IBA president speaks on Olympic boxing gender row

IT’S a red-hot topic that has divided opinion not just in boxing but within the entire sporting world. Algerian female boxer Imane Khelif inadvertently found herself at the centre of a gender storm at the Paris Olympic Games. 

Already under scrutiny, Khelif’s eligibility for participation was further questioned after her bout on Thursday saw Italian opponent Angela Carini take the unprecedented step of walking to her corner and quitting after just 46 seconds, citing Khelif’s extraordinary punching power as the reason. Cue an open-season debate that saw many public figures from all walks of life weigh in from different sides of the argument.

Khelif was disqualified from boxing in the Women’s World Championship final in New Delhi last year by the International Boxing Association (IBA), along with Lin Yu-Ting (a Taiwanese fighter embroiled in a separate gender row), who is also competing in the Olympic games in Paris.

Speaking exclusively to Boxing News, IBA president Umar Kremlev was open to discussing the matter in an official capacity. Understandably guarded in some of his responses, especially around the nature of the tests taken by Khelif and the exact test results, Kremlev told BN that undisclosed tests were administered on behalf of IBA, which guided the decision-making process.

“We cannot disclose the exact tests and their results due to the confidential nature of medical information,” stated Mr Kremlev.

“However, we can confirm that all procedures were done according to the IBA Technical & Competitions Rules, which clearly define the genders and their eligibility. We do not disclose such personal information [whether Imane was born male or female], all I can say is that the boxer isn’t eligible to take part in the female IBA events.”

When pressed on Imane Khelif’s decision to drop her appeal claim following the IBA ban, Mr Kremlev affirmed that anyone has the right to contest decisions before stressing that the decision is now legally binding.

As a result of the IBA ban, many have speculated that Khelif has a Differences in Sex Development (DSD) condition.

DSD is a rare group of conditions which affects the sex development of a person.

With DSD, an individual may have the sex chromosomes of a female (XX) or a male (XY) while also having differences in internal and/or external reproductive organs. While clinical classification of DSD in patients can be difficult, studies estimate an incidence rate of 1 in 4,500-5,500.

However, Khelif has not publicly commented on such speculation, and there is nothing to suggest the boxer is affected by a DSD condition.

Kremlev also declined to comment directly on whether Khelif had a DSD condition, saying that he is not a medical professional and cannot pass on personal medical information.

While minds have already been made up in some quarters regarding the outcome of the situation, some have pointed to the fact that athletes like Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps harboured significant physical advantages throughout their peak years.

Additionally, former heavyweight boxing world champion Nikolai Valuev’s acromegaly, or excessive growth hormone, led to his remarkable size advantages in the ring.

“Every athlete is unique of a kind, and I do not think it is fair to comment on people’s characteristics without their consent,” responded Kremlev, who also discussed the suggestion that IBA is using the situation for political point scoring against the IOC (International Olympic Committee). 

“IBA is not trying to score points for doing what is fair and caring about gender equality,” insisted Kremlev. “We did in 2023 what was right to protect female boxers, as well as now we are just insisting that we conducted necessary tests that proved ineligibility of the two boxers.”

According to an IBA statement, both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting were tested in Istanbul and New Delhi, but, surprisingly, both were only disqualified for New Delhi and not Istanbul. 

Umar Kremlev explained the reason for this move: “To avoid any possible mistake, the tests were conducted twice. This has not happened before, and we found ourselves in a new situation. To ensure fairness, we didn’t act immediately but made sure that our female boxers were protected,” he said.

Boxing News also asked for a comment on a recent post from the IBA Instagram account, which was later deleted. The post, a cartoon, depicted a man who is attacked for hitting a woman on the street, but lauded for hitting a woman in the ring. The caption read “The cruel world that Thomas Bach has given us”. The caption of course refers the President of the IOC, who has been embroiled in a war of words with Kremlev for some time. BN is yet to receive a response to our question on the now deleted Instagram post.

Carini, who snubbed a handshake with Khelif after abandoning their bout in Paris, later said that she wished to apologise to Khelif for her actions. The IBA has since announced that they plan to award Carini a portion of Olympic prize money despite her loss and elimination. This move came after Umar Kremlev’s communication with Boxing News.

In a further development yesterday (August 2), the Bulgarian Olympic Committee and Hungary Boxing Federation contacted the IOC to lodge objections to Khelif and Yu-ting participating in the Games. 

There is clearly much more to come in this rapidly unfolding story.