A Hungarian geneticist claims that Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting’s biological make-up in the female category is equal to doping.
The Hungarian Daily News published the story, quoting geneticist András Falus, who believed this was the case. The statement followed Khelif’s win over Hungarian boxer Luca Anna Hamori.
Khelif had progressed to the semi-final of the Olympic Games in Paris before an explosion of accusations emerged.
Firstly, the IBA staged a startling press conference, revealing the previously private testing procedures undertaken when Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting were tested in 2022 and suspended in 2023 at the World Championships.
The IBA said, “Following many complaints from several coaches, boxers agreed to gender testing. Blood sample collection was made on 17 May 2022. Sistem Tip Laboratory from Istanbul (License Number: 194-MRK) issued its report on 24 May 2022, after the competition ended. The laboratory detected results that didn’t match the eligibility criteria for IBA women’s events. Khelif won the silver medal in category 63 kg. Lin won the gold medal in the category 57 kg.
“One test for each athlete was not enough to decide on respective consequences; in the case, one test mistake is possible. The lawyers advised monitoring the situation and contacting the IOC. IBA informed the IOC representatives about these tests, but the IOC side did not respond.
“At the next IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships 2023 in New Delhi, Khelif and Lin were tested again after their consent before their first fights. Blood sample collection was made on 17 March 2023. Dr Lal PathLabs from New Delhi issued its report on 23 March 2023. The findings were absolutely identical to the first test results.”
Results from those tests confirmed that Khelif and Yu-Ying had XY chromosomes only present in males. Therefore, the IBA concluded that boxers should compete in the male category. A rule change was then ratified to ensure no boxers with XY could compete against women.
“On 12 May 2023, the IBA amended its Technical and Competition Rules. After internal discussion, the Board of Directors decided that IBA competitions would only be conducted between male and female athletes.
“Participation of DSD athletes [differences of sexual development] in boxing competitions was found dangerous for the health and security of the boxers.
“Amendments made by the Board to the T&C Rules: Definition of Men/Male/Boy = individual with chromosome XY. Definition of Women/Female/Girl = individual with chromosome XX.”
“IBA informed Imane Khelif about the conclusions made by the IBA Medical Committee and confirmed again that she is not eligible to participate in the IBA Women’s Competition. Therefore, her Elite Women Light Welter profile was removed from the IBA database. She did not appeal against this decision of IBA.
“IBA does not want to comment on a person’s private life. For IBA, it does not matter how Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting identify themselves or what is written on their passports. IBA’s main concern is that their hormonal imbalance affords them a distinct advantage over their female counterparts within their respective weight categories. This can be dangerous for other female boxers, as we have already seen during the Olympic Games. Therefore, she is not eligible to participate in the IBA competitions.”
Having heard the argument, the Falus, who was awarded the Széchenyi Prize, was quoted by the Hungarian Daily News saying, “that testosterone levels in women with this genetic disorder may be up to a hundred times higher than in ordinary women, representing a form of biological doping.”
Whatever the allegations may be, the fact of the matter remains that the IOC has to adopt the XY chromosome testing procedure for Los Angeles 2028 to quell the controversy. Any female competitor should not possess that DNA and, therefore, shouldn’t compete against females who have the XX make-up.
The obvious flaw in that plan is then allowing ‘born female’ athletes like Khelif and Yu-Ting to fight males. It may be a case of adding a new category altogether or simply applying a worldwide blanket ban on any boxer for safety reasons on both sides.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
