Olympic boxing has been gripped by a heated debate on gender eligibility in recent days after Algeria’s Imane Khelif beat Italian Angela Carini in a fight lasting only 46 seconds – sparking international outcry and a flurry of dangerous misinformation.
Concerns were raised after Carini stopped the match in less than a minute before telling her coach “it’s not right,” and later saying she had “never been hit so hard” in her career.
Her comments were believed to allude to Khelif’s disputed eligibility for competing against other women. It was the Algerian boxer’s disqualification by the International Boxing Association (IBA) in 2023 that first raised doubts about her gender eligibility.
The organisation found that she had and fellow boxer Lin Yu-Ting of Thailand had failed “to meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.”
This is despite Khelif being born and raised a woman, and not identifying as either transgender or intersex.
Recent years have seen the IBA’s legitimacy and impartiality come into question. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped the organisation of its status as boxing’s governing body in 2023, and has said the tests of both Khelif and Yu-Ting were illegitimate.
The Russian-linked body has since hit back, writing in a statement: “The IBA will never support any boxing bouts between the genders, as the organization puts the safety and well-being of our athletes first”.
The organisation will now hold a press conference in Paris highlighting covering its “stance on ineligible boxers” as Khelif continues to progress through the competition. She faces Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng in her semi-final bout on Tuesday.
Here’s everything you need to know about the IBA as the debate rages on:
What is the International Boxing Association (IBA)?
With roots in the 1920 Antwerp Olympic games, the IBA was at a point one of the largest governing bodies in amateur boxing. It was renamed from the AIBA in 2021, and hosts the biennial World Boxing Championships.
It was from this competition that Khelif and Yu-Ting were banned in 2023. In recent weeks, the IBA has clarified that their eligibility was decided based not on testosterone testing but a “separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential.”
This lack of transparency has led critics to highlight allegations of corruption at senior levels of the organisation. The IBA is run by Russian president Umar Kremlev, operates largely in the country, and is backed by Russian energy corporation Gazprom.
At the 2023 World Championships, Khelif was only disqualified suddenly before her gold medal bout after defeating Russian opponent Azalia Amineva at the semi-final. Amineva’s unbeaten record was subsequently restored.
The IOC withdrew recognition of the IBA in 2023 over concerns around finances, governance, ethics, refereeing and judging. The body has fervently denied these allegations.
It is now fighting to regain international standing and governance over Olympic boxing – goals which look increasingly unlikely in the wake of the allegations against them.
The IBA has not run an Olympic boxing tournament since 2016, and in April 2024, a court of arbitration upheld the IOC’s decision to strip them of their status.
