If both boxers have female parts, one just has higher Test levels, how is that functionally different from someone like Michael Phelps who has a disproportionately long torso and arms or produces less lactic acid than most athletes?
I certainly don't support just having dudes out there just beating the **** out of women in WOMEN'S boxing but if it's just a physical and body chemical advantage, I'm not sure how that is different than any other athletic competition.
Here's what I've found, so far, on how this came about:
Khelif’s victory
[over Carini] was met with controversy. At last year’s women’s boxing world championships in New Delhi, India, the International Boxing Association (IBA) disqualified Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu Ting—a three-time medalist—because they failed to meet eligibility rules that prevent athletes with XY chromosomes from competing in women’s events.
In a
statement released on July 31, the IBA said the March 23, 2023, decision was made after “meticulous review” and was intended to “uphold the level of fairness and utmost integrity of the competition.”
“This test conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors,” the IBA stated.
According to the sports organization, the disqualification was based on two tests conducted on both athletes during the world championships in Istanbul in 2022 and New Delhi in 2023.
The IBA added that “the athletes did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential.”
However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ruled that the two boxers would be eligible to compete in Paris after the Olympic body stripped the IBA of international recognition in June 2023 over issues related to governance, finance, and ethics.
The IOC’s “
Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations” sets out guidelines for federations on ensuring inclusion and fairness in sport, including for athletes with differences/disorders of sexual development (DSDs).
DSDs are a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones, and reproductive organs. Some people with DSDs are raised as female but have XY sex chromosomes and blood testosterone levels in the male range.
The IBA said in its statement that it isn’t involved in the IOC’s “differing regulations,” adding that the Olympic body’s decision raises “serious questions about both competitive fairness and athletes’ safety.”
“What I would say is that this involves real people, and we are talking about real people’s lives here,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said in the organization’s defense of allowing the two boxers to compete. Adams added that the two have competed over the years and have both lost and won in women’s boxing.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticized the IOC’s recent decision, saying Carini’s boxing bout against Khelif “was not an even contest” from her point of view.
“I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions,” Ms. Meloni said. “And not because you want to discriminate against someone, but to protect the right of female athletes to be able to compete on equal terms.”