Kellie Maloney has offered her verdict on the row over gender eligibility for the Olympics following public backlash over controversial athletes Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting.
Last year, both Khelif and Lin were found guilty of failing gender eligibility tests at the world championships. Khelif, 25, has XY male chromosomes but is not transgender. Both fighters are listed as female on their passports.
Khelif came under scrutiny following her 46-second victory against Italy’s Angela Carini, where Carini was forced to retire from the fight during the first round.
Kellie, 71, who announced she was transitioning in 2014, was previously known as Frank and enjoyed a successful career as a celebrity boxing promoter.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain on Monday, Kellie admitted she “doesn’t see what the problem is” because the competitors were born female.
Kellie said she believes athletes born male should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports or enter women’s spaces until they have undergone gender reassignment surgery.
Kellie Maloney has offered her verdict on the row over gender eligibility for the Olympics following public backlash over controversial athletes Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting.
Last year, both Khelif (pictured) and Lin were judged to have failed gender eligibility tests at the world championships. Khelif, 25, has male XY chromosomes but is not transgender. Both fighters are female on their passports.
Asked by presenter Kate Garraway what she made of the media storm, she said: “They are biological women so I don’t know what the problem is.”
‘They boxed at the Olympics four years ago. They were beaten by an Irish boxer and not a word was said about it.
‘They are taking part in the World Championships, organised by a Russian organisation that the Olympics do not recognise, and claim they have not passed a gender test.
“But there is no evidence, they have not presented any evidence of the test that they did. So in Algeria you can’t be gay, you can’t be trans, you get 10 years in prison. So I feel sorry for them, their lives have been destroyed.”
Co-presenter Ed Balls added: “The International Boxing Association (IBA) says it has tested these women, but no one has made those results public.”
KM: It’s a shame, the same thing happened to her as to the South African runner (Caster Semenya), her life was destroyed since her story became known. She has been banned from competing. She was a great runner.
“You can’t help how you’re born. I can’t help being born trans, I certainly didn’t want to transition, I had a great life as Frank Maloney, but I had to do it for my own mental health.”
Kellie, 71, who announced she was transitioning in 2014, was previously known as Frank and enjoyed a successful career as a celebrity boxing promoter.
Khelif came under scrutiny after her 46-second victory over Italy’s Angela Carini
During the conversation, Kellie also discussed the access transgender women should have to women’s spaces.
After Ed said, ‘You’re Kellie, you’ve transitioned, but you’re also a father,’ she replied, ‘Yes, I will always be a father. I’m not a biological woman, I’m not trying to fool anyone.’
“I am a medically constructed woman. I am fundamentally different from many other transgender people. Because I believe that the transgender umbrella is too big.
“I have daughters and I talk to them and I agree that women should feel safe in their space, women’s sports should be for women. I don’t think trans women who have gone through puberty should be able to participate in women’s sport. And I don’t think that if they haven’t had full surgery and lost a certain part of their body they should be allowed to participate in women’s spaces.”
Kellie is about to release a documentary about her life called Knockout Blonde.
Speaking about the impending release, he said: ‘The documentary was in the works for about three years, I had several offers from different companies but I decided on the Americans because they gave me a bit of freedom in the production.
“I wanted it to be a full narrative and to show that it’s not just about my experience, but about the people in my life and how badly they felt and how I could have destroyed their lives. It was very emotional.”
“I wanted it to be very educational, for people to see that trans women are normal human beings and they just want to live a normal life.”
Kate asked her, “I remember interviewing you for a long time, as Frank, but when I see you now as Kelly, I feel like a different person. Do you feel like a different person?”
Kellie said, ‘No, not really. Because I’m not from that community where Frank is dead, Frank is not dead. Frank is part of who I am. I’ve taken the good from Frank and mixed it with Kellie to become a better person.’
On Sunday night, Khelif gave a shocking interview for the first time since she trashed athlete Carini.
She issued a defiant warning to her critics as she slammed bullying following her controversial victory at the Paris Olympics.
The Algerian athlete harshly criticised criticism of her gender, which she described as “harmful to human dignity”, during an interview in Arabic with SNTV.
She said: ‘I send a message to all the people of the world to stand up for the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has consequences, massive consequences.
“It can destroy people, it can kill their thoughts, their spirit and their mind. It can divide people. And that’s why I ask you to refrain from bullying.”
The victories of Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan have become one of the biggest stories of the Paris Games.
Both have claimed their first Olympic medals despite facing scrutiny for their gender.
Khelif acknowledged the pressure and pain of enduring this ordeal while competing far from home in the most important event of her athletic career.
“I am in touch with my family two days a week. I hope it hasn’t affected them too much,” he said. “They are worried about me. God willing, this crisis will culminate in a gold medal, and that would be the best answer.”
The vitriol stems from claims by the International Boxing Association, which has been permanently banned from the Olympics, that both Khelif and Lin failed unspecified eligibility tests for women’s competition at last year’s world championships.
Khelif declined to answer when asked if he had undergone any other tests besides doping, saying he did not want to talk about it.