2024 Summer Olympics boxing controversy
Open-knowledge reference entry
The boxing controversy at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris involved two female boxers: Algerian Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan. Their eligibility to compete in the women's boxing events at the Paris Olympic Games was questioned after allegedly failing unspecified sex verification tests, a decision that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) subsequently criticised as "sudden and arbitrary".
Both athletes had previously been disqualified from the 2023 IBA Women's World Championships by the Russian-run International Boxing Association (IBA). The IBA claimed the disqualifications were based on unspecified "gender tests", which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later determined were "completely arbitrary", "illegitimate", and "lacked credibility." In the lead-up to the Paris Games, the IOC cleared both athletes to compete.
The controversy escalated following an August 1 match in Paris, where Khelif faced Italian boxer Angela Carini. After two head blows, Carini withdrew from the match, prompting widespread media speculation about Khelif's gender eligibility.
Although neither Khelif nor Lin are transgender, the controversy became closely linked to broader public debates about trans women's inclusion in women's sports. Several public figures, including then U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump and author J. K. Rowling, referenced the incident in political commentary about women in sports, often incorrectly suggesting Khelif was male.
National sporting bodies from Algeria and Taiwan issued strong defences of their athletes who were facing harassment over their eligibility as women to compete, while the IOC reaffirmed the two athletes' eligibility.
The incident occurred amid ongoing disputes between the IOC, which oversees the Olympic Games, and the IBA, boxing's long-time global governing body.
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