Olympic champion Nicola Adams weighs in on boxing gender controversy
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Olympic boxing champion Nicola Adams has shared her opinion on the controversy surrounding gender in the sport. She believes that it would not be right or safe for individuals who have experienced male puberty to compete against women.
Italian fighter Angela Carini stopped her fight against Algeria's Imane Khelif after only 46 seconds on Thursday, stating that she had never experienced a punch that powerful before.
Khelif and Lin Yu-ting from Chinese Taipei are at the Games in Paris because they were disqualified from the World Championships last year by the International Boxing Association (IBA) for not meeting the criteria for gender eligibility.
Adams, the athlete who won gold in the flyweight category for Team GB in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, posted on X on Friday: "Having fought for years to get women's boxing recognized in the Olympics and witnessing all the effort they put into their training to reach that point, it was difficult to see another fighter being made to abandon her Olympic aspirations."
Individuals who were not assigned female at birth and have experienced male puberty should be ineligible to participate in women's sports. This is not only unjust, but also poses a risk to the safety of participants.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is in charge of the boxing event in Paris because they took away the IBA's status as the sport's global federation. They put out a statement on Thursday saying that, like in past Games, athletes' genders will be determined by their passports.
The IOC stated that incorrect information had been spread about Khelif and Lin, emphasizing that they have been participating in international boxing competitions for a long time, including the Tokyo Games in the past.
They referred to the IBA's choice to disqualify them last year as unexpected and unfair, stating that it was done without proper procedures being followed.
The IBA did not provide details about Khelif and Lin's disqualification, but announced on Thursday that they were removed from competition after failing "two reliable tests" at the World Championships in Istanbul in 2022 and New Delhi in 2023.
The IBA is firm in its stance that it will not endorse any matches where male and female boxers compete against each other, prioritizing the safety and welfare of all athletes. This message was shared on their official website.
We are standing up for our female athletes and their right to compete on a fair playing field. We will always have their backs and help them succeed. It's important that their aspirations and opportunities are not hindered by organizations that refuse to act ethically in challenging situations.
A statement released by the IBA earlier on Wednesday verified that the athletes had not been tested for testosterone levels.
Lin will be competing on Friday against Sitora Turdibekova in the 57kg women's category. Khelif is scheduled to compete next against Anna Luca Hamori from Hungary on Saturday.
