The head of a separate boxing body supports the IOC's handling of gender issues at the Paris Olympics.
VILLEPINTE, France: The head of the body hoping to run the next Olympic boxing tournament said he supported the IOC's qualification policy for the Paris Games, and urged those without a deep understanding of gender issues to leave the decision to medical experts and scientists.
World Boxing Federation President Boris van der Forst also told The Associated Press on Thursday that his organization will always put athlete safety first when developing its own policies on health and gender, but he recognizes that combat sports may require additional considerations to protect all athletes.
Van der Forst remains strongly opposed to the IOC's handling of the Olympic tournament, particularly criticism over the eligibility of women's boxers Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei.
“I think it's very important that when people are qualified to compete here, we respect them,” Van der Borst said. “I think it's a very sad situation for all boxers, for everyone involved.”
The now-exiled International Boxing Association, which World Boxing hopes will replace it, has argued that both fighters, who have competed in amateur boxing for years, failed to pass gender eligibility testing for the 2023 world championships.
Kelly won her first match in Paris on Thursday when her opponent, Italian Angela Carini, was forced to retire after just 46 seconds. While Carini said she was not making a political statement against Kelly, Carini’s tearful withdrawal from the match became a global sensation on social media and in the Western culture wars.
“What happened today shouldn’t have happened this way,” Van der Borst told the AP. “The pressure from social media, the press, everyone else is not helping, and it’s getting into everyone’s heads.”
The criticism of the two boxers stems in part from the policies and decisions of the IBA, which has been out of the Olympic movement since 2019 after the IOC raised concerns over its leadership, integrity and financial transparency for several years.
The IBA disqualified Kelly from the World Championships for having high testosterone levels and stripped Lin of her bronze medal for failing to meet unspecified eligibility requirements in a biochemical test.
Van der Vorst's World Boxing is a coalition of dozens of countries that broke away from the IBA after an internal power struggle failed to oust Russian President Umar Kremlev. The IOC task force ran the last two Olympic boxing tournaments.
If World Boxing is approved to become the sport's Olympic governing body, it will be responsible for the major tournaments during the Olympic cycle. If World Boxing is not successful, boxing will likely be dropped from the Olympic program.
Van der Borst said it was “too early” to know what the World Boxing Federation’s exact policy on gender identity would be, given the sport’s unique physical demands and risks.
“Safety is paramount, above all else,” Van der Borst said. “But I think in combat sports, there are other reasons for how you handle these types of situations.”
The IOC used the 2016 rules to determine gender eligibility for boxers, and several Olympic sports governing bodies, including the World Aquatics Federation, World Athletics Federation and International Cycling Union, have updated their gender rules over the past three years. Athletics’ governing body also last year strengthened its rules for athletes with gender differences.
“We will have the medical committee come up with a policy as soon as possible after this competition, and that is already in progress,” Van der Borst said. “But they have to finalize the policy, and the overall issue is very complex. We need good tests, not just gender tests, but medical tests. More importantly, I don’t think it’s up to you and me. It’s up to the (professionals) who are involved.”
Van der Forst and other members of his organization are based in Paris as observers, occasionally recruiting other countries to join the governing body that has the sole chance of keeping boxing on the Olympic program when the IOC decides the sport’s fate as early as 2025. World Boxing currently has 37 members.
World Boxing is also working on mechanisms for major tournaments it hopes to host, including the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Taiwan and Algeria are still IBA members, but Lin competed in the World Boxing Invitational Tournament in Pueblo, Colorado, last spring, where she lost her opening bout to Brazilian Olympian Juscielen Romeu.
Van der Post left the event that day disillusioned with the outrageous conclusions and speculation about the two players that ran rampant on social media.
“I haven't seen a single test that proves (the boxers) are transgender,” Van der Borst said. “That's why I don't respect the boxers that are competing here… I'm talking about them in these terms. That's what I'm trying to emphasize. When there's evidence, yes, it's different. But I haven't seen anything that proves that.”
