Olympic champion Lin Yuting withdrew from the boxing tournament due to the lack of World Boxing position on her gender test

Taiwanese representative Lin Yuting, who won a gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, will not participate in the tournament under the auspices of the international federation World Boxing due to doubts about her gender, Focus Taiwan reports.

The tournament takes place from November 27 to 30 in Sheffield, UK. The 28-year-old athlete arrived in the country to participate in competitions and was ready to undergo a medical examination on the spot, but the organizers refused her offer. After this, coach Lin Yuting and Taiwanese sports officials decided to withdraw from the tournament.

“She is a woman, she meets all the admission criteria and successfully took part in the women’s boxing tournament at the Olympics in Paris. Unfortunately, since World Boxing is newly established and still in the process of developing its operating arrangements, it does not have clear IOC regulatory policies that ensure the protection of athlete rights. “In addition, World Boxing’s medical committee has not yet developed robust confidentiality procedures to protect the medical information provided by Taiwan regarding our athlete,” the Taiwan Sports Administration said in a statement.

After the athlete’s refusal to compete, World Boxing noted that “the organization’s current admission policy does not prevent Lin Yuting from taking part in the World Boxing Cup,” so she had the right to compete in the tournament. The federation decided to create a special medical committee to study such cases in order to “review all aspects of this area” and ensure that the organization’s policy “puts the health of boxers first and ensures sporting integrity” and also “strives to make the sport as inclusive as possible.” .

In 2023, the International Boxing Association (IBA) suspended Lin Yuting and Iman Khelif of Algeria during the World Championships in India due to failure to meet eligibility criteria. As a result of the gender test, it was proven that the athletes have XY chromosomes. That same year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) session expelled the IBA from the Olympic movement. The IOC then cleared Lin Yuting and Khelif to compete in the women’s boxing tournament at the Paris Olympics. As a result, both athletes won gold medals in their weight categories.

The alternative organization World Boxing was founded by national federations that left the IBA.