Trans boxers with XY chromosomes will fight against biological women at Olympics

Two biologically male boxers will compete with women at the Paris Olympics after having previously been barred from fighting in international events, the International Olympic Committee confirmed.

Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan were both unable to participate in the Women’s World Boxing Championship in New Delhi last year, but have been cleared to fight in the women’s 66-kilogram and women’s 57-kilogram bouts later this week.

At the time of their disqualifications, the president of the International Boxing Association, which oversees the World Boxing Championships, claimed that the boxers’ chromosome tests showed XY results (women have two X chromosomes, while men have one X and one Y chromosome).

“Based on DNA tests, we identified a number of athletes who tried to trick their colleagues into posing as women,” said Umar Kremlev, the association's president. “According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have XY chromosomes. Such athletes were disqualified from competition.”

Khelif and Lin have both competed as women and neither of them claim to be trans or intersex.

“This is a conspiracy and a big conspiracy, and we will not be silent about it,” said Khelif, saying that there was efforts to keep Algeria from winning a gold medal.

The IOC said in an email to NBC News on Tuesday that “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.”

In 2021, the IOC revised its rules on athletes’ gender eligibility, including guidelines for transgender participation, by deferring to the governing bodies of each sport. The IOC no longer recognizes the IBA as the authority over Olympic boxing, instead referring to the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit — an ad-hoc unit developed by the IOC — for its eligibility standards.

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