International Boxing Association (IBA) President Umar Kremlev has called on international sporting bodies to develop rules to protect women’s sports and ban transgender athletes from all women’s competitions following recent statements by US President Donald Trump about boxing competitor Iman Khelif.

Trump, during a recent speech, recalled the situation at the boxing competition at the Paris Olympics in 2024, where Algerian Iman Khelif won the gold medal. Previously, she was deprived of the right to participate in women’s boxing competitions under the auspices of the IBA. Trump stressed the importance of strict rules to protect female athletes.

“We remember the last Olympic Games not by sports records or vivid emotions, but by how Paris became a symbol of mockery of women and their rights. Unfortunately, so far no one has been held accountable for the fact that athletes who did not meet the admission criteria were allowed to compete. Now it is necessary to make a strong-willed decision at the state level to protect female athletes. I would like to once again thank President Trump for his strong stance on banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports. This demonstrates strong leadership and vision ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games and sets a strong example for other heads of state. Now the time has come for all sports to develop rules similar to boxing: transgender athletes should not compete with women, the IBA press service quotes Kremlev.

Kremlev stressed that the IBA is the only international federation that has already taken responsibility by developing an official policy to protect the women’s categories by defining a gender perspective in the IBA technical and competition rules, as well as introducing gender tests during IBA competitions.

“It is our responsibility to protect the women’s categories so that athletes can compete on a level playing field, knowing that the rules are applied strictly, consistently and transparently.” In boxing, we chose the most honest path – we banned transgender athletes from participating in women’s competitions, establishing admission criteria,” Kremlev said.

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