The governing body for Olympic-style boxing will require sex testing for all fighters wishing to compete in the women’s division at its world championships next month.
World Boxing already had announced its plan to require competitors to undergo a polymerase chain reaction test or an equivalent genetic screening test to determine their sex at birth.
The rules will be implemented ahead of the world championships in Liverpool, England in early September, the organisation announced on Thursday (AEST).
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The tests identify the presence or absence of Y chromosome genetic material as the indicator of biological sex.
“World Boxing respects the dignity of all individuals and is keen to ensure it is as inclusive as possible,” World Boxing president Boris Van Der Vorst said.
“Yet in a combat sport like boxing, we have a duty of care to deliver safety and competitiveness fairness, which are the key principles that have guided the development and creation of this policy.”
Algeria’s Imane Khelif in action at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Getty
Paris Olympic champion Imane Khelif of Algeria declined to enter a World Boxing tournament in the Netherlands in June, shortly after the governing body initially announced its plans to introduce sex testing.
Van Der Vorst later apologised for specifically naming Khelif, who initially planned to fight in the tournament, while outlining World Boxing’s future testing plans.
Khelif and fellow gold medallist Lin Yu-ting from Taiwan excelled in Paris under a harsh spotlight of widespread scrutiny and misconception about their sex.
The 26-year-old Khelif repeatedly has said she was born a woman, and she has competed at all levels of women’s boxing for nearly a decade.
Chromosome testing was common in Olympic sports during the 20th century but was largely abandoned in the 1990s because of numerous ambiguities that couldn’t be easily resolved by the tests, collectively known as differences in sex development.
Many sports switched to hormone testing to determine sex eligibility, but those tests require governing bodies to make difficult decisions on the eligibility of women with naturally high testosterone levels.
Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting (left) fighting at the Paris Olympics. AP
World Boxing said athletes with DSD in which male androgenisation occurred would be eligible to compete only in the men’s category.
But the governing body also said it would offer extensive additional analysis and evaluation for athletes with Y chromosome genetic material who wished to compete in the women’s categories, including genetic screening, hormonal profiles, anatomical examination and further evaluation of endocrine profiles by medical specialists. An appeals process also is available.
National federations are responsible for conducting the tests and submitting the results, World Boxing said.
Earlier this year, World Athletics — the governing body for track and field — became the first Olympic sport to reintroduce chromosome testing, requiring athletes who compete in women’s events to submit to the test once in their careers. World Athletics has set a deadline of September 1 for athletes to submit to the gene tests ahead of the world championships, taking place in Tokyo next month.
The last two Olympic boxing tournaments were run by a task force from the International Olympic Committee under previous rules of sex eligibility. World Boxing, which was founded two years ago after a split from the scandal-plagued International Boxing Association, has been provisionally recognised by the IOC and will organise the next cycle of Olympic qualification heading to the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
