‘Women’s category must be only women’: Doctor defends IBA bans at farcical press conference

• Four boxers were tested during the 2022 World Championships in Istanbul (May 8-20) following concerns raised by rival fighters, coaches and medical staff, disputing the gender of the athletes based on their appearance and performance.
• The boxers (including Khelif and Lin) were asked to provide blood samples on May 17 in tests conducted by an independent laboratory (Sistem Tip) in Istanbul.
• On May 24 – after Khelif had already claimed silver in the women’s 60-63kg category and Lin had won gold in the women’s 54-57kg category – the laboratory issued its findings to the IBA.
• On legal advice, the IBA did not disqualify or revoke the prize money of the two boxers. However, another independent test was recommended to ensure the results were conclusive.

In the 10 months that passed between the 2022 championships in Istanbul and the following year’s world title fights in New Delhi in 2023, Khelif and Lin did not fight in IBA-organised tournaments.

The IBA decided it was too difficult to organise independent medical examinations in their respective countries and waited until they arrived in India to conduct another assessment.

The IBA’s version of events is as follows:

• On March 17, the day before Khelif’s first fight in the tournament, both she and Lin were asked to undergo blood tests that were performed by another independent unit, Dr Lal Path Labs in New Delhi.
• Six days later, on March 23, Dr Lal Path Labs gave the IBA its findings.
• The next day, on March 24, the then IBA secretary general and CEO George Yerolimpos informed both Khelif and Lin that they did not meet the eligibility criteria. The boxers were given a copy of their tests and were given the opportunity to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days.
• Both continued to participate in the tournament until March 26, when the IBA board voted to ratify Yerolimpos’ decision to disqualify the pair. By that stage, Lin had already won bronze. The decision to disqualify Khelif came on the same day she was meant to fight for gold against China’s Yang Liu. She wasn’t allowed to fight.

“They have high levels of testosterone, like a man,” said Dr Ioannis Filippatos, an obstetrician and gynaecologist of 30 years who also serves as the president of the European Boxing Confederation.

“They have men’s level of testosterone. We don’t know if they were born a man – we don’t have anything to confirm [that].

“The only thing we can do is protect the athletes. The women’s category must be only women. If you don’t agree, start another category – mixed category.”

“Everybody can do what they want in their bed and at home, but this is sport. There’s only two categories, women’s sport and men’s sport. Don’t say we don’t know what exactly is a woman. Please. It’s not possible to say we don’t know. If you don’t know, ask the doctor, but then let the doctor speak.”

There has been no suggestion that either boxer was born male.

Fighting back the tears after her quarter-final win over Hungarian Luca Anna Hamori on Saturday in Paris, Khelif told reporters: “I want to tell the entire world that I am a female, and I will remain a female.”

Before the bout, IOC president Bach told a press conference there were no issues with Khelif and Lin competing against women.

“Let’s be very clear here, we are talking about women’s boxing, and we have two boxers born as women, have been raised as women, who have passports as women and competed for many years as women,” Bach said.

The situation in New Delhi was the first time the IBA had to enforce its gender-eligibility policy and vote to disqualify a boxer based on chromosome tests.

Sources with knowledge of the situation, speaking under the condition of anonymity due to confidentiality agreements, said that in 2016, a South-East Asian female boxer was given a sex chromosome test. The boxer, after being informed of her results by the IBA, never returned to compete again.

It wasn’t until after the situation arose with Khelif and Lin in New Delhi that the IBA amended its rules to include sex chromosome testing in its criteria for gender eligibility.

However, endocrinologists say sex is not as simple as males having XY chromosomes and females XX, and that people can be born with different biological arrangements.

“Humans aren’t black and white; they’re not just male and female,” said associate professor Ada Cheung, an endocrinologist at the University of Melbourne. “There are many ways to be intersex.”

Several journalists at Le Salon des Miroirs in Paris were infuriated at the IBA’s explanation as to why there was a 10-month gap between the tests, leaving Filippatos to defend the governing body’s actions.

“Why do you attack me?” he said to one of the angry reporters.

“I’m trying to say the medical results from the laboratory say this boxer is man. We’re trying now to find out why it happened like that. We’re not against Khelif. Our problem is that we have two blood exams with chromosomes of a man. This is not my answer, it’s the answer from the laboratory.

“These abnormalities, we need to collaborate with a doctor. I was not in the hospital when she was born. The problem is not with Khelif – she is one very good and talented boxer – but as a doctor I need to protect the women’s category in sport.”

Research undertaken by the IBA stated that it was dangerous to allow DSD (differences in sex development) athletes to compete against other women.

The policy was based on research conducted by the IBA that determined females produced up to 108 watts of power in their punch compared to 282 watts of power in males.

The IBA decided that because men generated 162 per cent more power in their punches, it was unsafe for XY-chromosome athletes to compete in the female category.

“When there is an unfair advantage, people could die,” IBA coaches committee chair Gabriele Martelli said.

While Lin did not appeal the IBA’s decision, Khelif challenged the ruling through CAS in April 2023. The IBA paid what it claimed was its fair share of procedural costs.

Three months later, CAS issued a termination order because Khelif could not fund the costs of the matter. Khelif then provided her own medical documentation after sourcing independent testing to try and clear her name and return to competition under the IBA banner.

It wasn’t until April this year, following examination from the IBA medical committee, that the matter was concluded.

Khelif was notified about the IBA findings four months ago. She was told that the results gave her an unfair competitive advantage and deemed it unsafe for her to fight against female opponents. The IOC disregarded the IBA’s advice.

“Contrary to what was discussed at the weekend, the IOC has received this information,” IBA secretary-general and chief executive Chris Roberts said. “While the IOC have had the information, they haven’t done anything.”

Tension between the two bodies has been at an all-time high after the IOC removed the IBA as the official organisers of the Paris Games last year for failing to address governance problems and corruption within its sport.

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