Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-ting won Olympic gold in featherweight boxing in Paris on Saturday, defeating Poland’s Julia Szeremeta. The victory comes amid controversy over Lin’s gender identity.
Lin, who won in a unanimous decision, was one of the athletes disqualified from the Women’s World Boxing Championship in New Delhi in 2023 after failing the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) gender eligibility tests. Commenting on the results, the organization’s president, Umar Kremlev, said the tests “proved they had XY chromosomes and were thus excluded from the sports events.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) admitted Lin and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif – who was also disqualified from last year’s tournament – to the Paris Games.
Earlier this month, IOC spokesman Mark Adams claimed that all the athletes “comply with the eligibility rules,” while casting doubt on the tests conducted by the IBA last year. On Friday, Khelif won Olympic gold, defeating China’s Yang Liu in the women’s welterweight finals.
Both Lin and Khelif have been at the center of a heated debate due to their failed DNA tests, with some commentators arguing that it is unfair to allow people with male genetic characteristics to compete against female athletes. Supporters, however, say it is not clear whether the tests found XY chromosomes or elevated testosterone in their blood samples.
Two years ago, the IBA, which is headed by Kremlev, a Russian national, overturned a ban on Russian and Belarusian boxers, becoming one of the few global sports bodies to allow athletes from the two countries to compete with their national flags and anthems despite international sanctions. In 2023, the IOC stripped the IBA of its recognition over an alleged failure to implement governance and finance reforms, and took charge of boxing at the Paris Olympics.