Ongoing Diskussion bei Olympia - Boxing boss attacks Bach and IOC - "Destroying the sport"
The International Boxing Association (IBA) and its president Umar Kremlev have sharply criticized the IOC in the gender debate surrounding Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taiwanese athlete Lin Yu-Ting. In a 20-minute speech in Russian, Kremlev repeatedly criticized the Olympic organizers and named Bach, saying, "It's sad to see. We're destroying the sport this way," as he joined the press conference in Paris via video from Russia.
Khelif and Lin were disqualified from last year's World Championships after tests showed they did not meet the required participation criteria and had a competitive advantage compared to other female participants.
"I want to defend and protect all boxers," Kremlev said, speaking loudly and impulsively in front of around 100 journalists and more than a dozen camera teams. He accused Bach of a personal counterattack, claiming, "I'm only here to clean up the chaos."
Test results not published
After Khelif won her first Olympic bout against Italian Angela Carini by technical knockout in just 46 seconds, a heated controversy erupted over her eligibility. "She was born a woman, grew up as a woman, has a woman's passport, and has competed in women's competitions," Bach repeatedly justified the participation permit, which also applies to Lin: "There was never any doubt that they are women."
The IBA, which hastily convened the press conference in the 300-square-meter Mirror Salon, once again outlined the procedure surrounding the tests on Khelif and Lin on Monday. "The IOC received all this information about the tests from us. The interesting situation here is: The IOC did nothing with it," said General Secretary Chris Roberts on the only rest day of the boxing competitions at the Olympics. "We are not in a position to publish the test results," he added.
"Only believable in their own minds"
IOC spokesman Mark Adams had previously said about the IBA officials: "These people are only believable in their own minds." Regarding the letter, Adams said the IOC had not dealt with the scientific standards of the analysis because it was not a legitimate source.
The IOC does not recognize the IBA and is organizing the boxing tournament at the Olympics again itself. According to Adams, the gender indicated in the passport is decisive for admission to many sports. In boxing, the rules have been applied the same way at the Olympics in Rio 2016, Tokyo 2021, and Paris. The IOC wants to hold boxing only with a serious partner in 2028. Currently, the sport is not in the program for Los Angeles.
At the event, which began almost an hour late due to organizational problems, there were repeated technical difficulties and chaotic scenes.
Lin Yu-ting was mentioned alongside Algerian boxer Imane Khelif in the IBA's criticism of the IOC's handling of the gender debate. General Secretary Chris Roberts of the IBA stated during a press conference that the IOC received information about the tests on Lin and Khelif, but didn't take any action with the test results.
