Paris Olympics 2024 Boxing: IOC vs IBA in Gender Eligibility Dispute

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The Paris Olympics 2024 have been embroiled in controversy following the inclusion of two female boxers in the women's division, who were previously disqualified from the 2023 World Championships.

The situation intensified when Imane Khelif from Algeria won her opening bout against Italy's Angela Carini after just 46 seconds, forcing Carini to withdraw.

Both Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting were disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after failing gender eligibility tests at the World Championships in New Delhi. Despite this, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which governs the boxing events at the Olympics due to the IBA's suspension, has cleared both athletes to compete, as the IOC does not require similar tests.

This discrepancy highlights the ongoing dispute between the IOC and the IBA, a Russian-led organization accused of governance failures, lack of financial transparency, and corruption in judging and refereeing. The IBA's suspension by the IOC has led to the IOC taking over the management of Olympic boxing events, aiming to ensure fair play and integrity in the sport.

The IBA, under Russian President Umar Kremlev, who secured Gazprom, a Russian state-owned energy firm, as its primary sponsor, has faced substantial criticism and has lost over three dozen members. These members have formed a new group, World Boxing, which seeks IOC recognition as the sport's governing body before the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Leveraging the participation of Khelif and Lin in Paris, the IBA has criticized the IOC. Following the Court of Arbitration for Sport's (CAS) upholding of the IOC's ban, the IBA appealed to the Swiss Federal Tribunal. In a statement, the IBA claimed the boxers were subjected to a "separate and recognized test" for their disqualification, though it has kept the specifics confidential.

Joint Paris 2024 Boxing Unit/IOC Statement

"Every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination. All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition's eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU). As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport.

These rules also applied during the qualification period, including the boxing tournaments of the 2023 European Games, Asian Games, Pan American Games, and Pacific Games, the ad hoc 2023 African qualifying tournament in Dakar (SEN), and two world qualifying tournaments held in Busto Arsizio (ITA) and Bangkok (THA) in 2024, which involved a total of 1,471 different boxers from 172 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the Boxing Refugee Team, and Individual Neutral Athletes, and featured over 2,000 qualification bouts."

Clarification on Tokyo 2020 Rules

"The PBU used the Tokyo 2020 boxing rules as a baseline to develop its regulations for Paris 2024. This was to minimize the impact on athletes' preparations and guarantee consistency between Olympic Games. These Tokyo 2020 rules were based on the post-Rio 2016 rules, which were in place before the suspension of the boxing International Federation by the IOC in 2019 and the subsequent withdrawal of its recognition in 2023.

We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women's category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships, and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.

These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process.

According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO. The IBA Board only ratified it afterwards and only subsequently requested that a procedure to follow in similar cases in the future be established and reflected in the IBA Regulations. The minutes also say that the IBA should 'establish a clear procedure on gender testing.'

The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure - especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years. Such an approach is contrary to good governance.

Eligibility rules should not be changed during ongoing competition, and any rule change must follow appropriate processes and should be based on scientific evidence."
IOC's Commitment to Athlete Rights

"The IOC is committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes participating in the Olympic Games as per the Olympic Charter, the IOC Code of Ethics and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights. The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving.

The IBA's recognition was withdrawn by the IOC in 2023 following its suspension in 2019. The withdrawal of recognition was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). See the IOC's statement following the ruling.

The IOC has made it clear that it needs National Boxing Federations to reach a consensus around a new International Federation in order for boxing to be included on the sports program of the Olympic Games LA28."