IOC defends Olympic boxers in gender eligibility controversy amid firestorm

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The International Olympic Committee maintained Thursday that the boxers in its women’s competition "comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU)."

The IOC’s statement came as Algerian boxer Imane Khelif defeated Italy’s Angela Carini via abandonment. Khelif was able to compete despite the International Boxing Association (IBA) determined that Khelif had "XY chromosomes." 

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International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach meets with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (unseen) prior to the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 26, 2024, in Paris, France (Wang Lili - Pool/Getty Images)

The IBA said Wednesday that its 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."

Khelif’s win sparked a firestorm across social media, with many saying the International Olympic Committee shouldn’t have allowed the fight to go on and that Khelif shouldn’t be competing in the matches. 

The IOC defended allowing having Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting in the women’s competition and fired shots at the IBA. The organization added "with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport," and their eligibility rules have been used in other IOC-sanctioned tournaments.

"We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The two