WITH World Boxing now firmly at the helm, an announcement on new gender eligibility rules following the controversy at Paris 2024 is expected in the coming weeks.
It was announced yesterday that the breakaway group, led by president Boris van der Vorst, will organise Olympic boxing for the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
This pivotal decision was approved at the 144th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), with its new president, Kirsty Coventry, having also been elected yesterday.
But now, both Van der Vorst and Coventry must address the gender row that ensued as a result of Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting claiming gold at the Paris Games.
The two boxers allegedly failed gender eligibility tests conducted by the International Boxing Association (IBA) ahead of their Olympic victories last year.
However, after the IOC withdrew its recognition of IBA due to concerns over governance issues and a lack of financial transparency in 2023, the pair were ultimately cleared to compete as female athletes.
But while the evidence of their alleged XY chromosomes remains unclear, their Olympic participation nonetheless produced an almighty uproar, with the likes of Elon Musk and J. K. Rowling accusing them of being biological men.
So now, as the newly-recognised international federation of Olympic boxing, World Boxing, along with the IOC, is expected to find a satisfactory resolution.
Van der Vorst, who insists that the situation is being investigated by his task force, has teased an announcement ahead of the World Boxing Cup on March 31.
“There’s no specific timeline, but I expect [an announcement on gender eligibility rules] within two or three weeks,” Van der Vorst told The Guardian. “We want to have it before our next competition in Brazil.”
Khelif has expressed her desire to compete at the Los Angeles Games but, along with Yu-ting, is yet to apply for entry to World Boxing’s competition in Brazil.
IOC president Coventry, meanwhile, is keen to work with World Boxing in order to put a plan in place after Donald Trump confirmed his ban on transgender athletes competing in women’s sport.
“My stance is that we will protect the female category and athletes,” Coventry said at yesterday’s press conference.
“I want to work together with the international federations. And we’re going to do that by setting up a task force that will look and analyse everything.”
Regarding her appointment as the Olympic chief, Coventry has shown a willingness to amplify sporting participation in Africa, a region that has unearthed plenty of boxing talent.
So while a stance on gender eligibility is taking shape, her appointment should also represent an encouraging moment for African boxing.
