- Lin Yu-ting won her featherweight quarterfinal on Sunday to guarantee a medal.
- Khelif secured a medal after beating Hamori by unanimous decision
- Both wrestlers have been at the center of an eligibility dispute at the Paris Games.
Olympic chiefs received test results more than a year ago showing gender-division boxer and guaranteed medal winner Imane Khelif had the DNA of a “male”.
Officials from the Russian-led IBA, stripped of the right to stage boxing at the Olympics amid concerns over corruption and governance, provided data to Games chiefs after they disqualified welterweight from their World Championships.
Algeria’s Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who was also banned from the competition, reportedly for the same reason, have both claimed at least bronze medals in the women’s section at Paris 2024, amid widespread controversy.
The IOC, which is effectively at war with the IBA, confirmed it had received the information, which was sent in June, but attempted to dismiss it as “not legitimate”.
The letter, leaked to website 3 Wire Sports, claimed the test “concluded that the boxer’s DNA was that of a male composed of XY chromosomes.”
Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva crossed two fingers and tapped them twice towards the crowd after the defeat.
Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting booked her place in the Olympic final after defeating Staneva on Sunday
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif (right) said she too would receive a medal at the Games with a victory on Saturday.
He added: “This situation exemplifies the importance of protecting safe sport and the integrity of sport, to which the Olympic Movement is jointly committed.”
IOC spokesman Mark Adams confirmed that the information had been received. He did not question its content, but criticised the validity of the evidence.
“These tests are not legitimate,” he said. “The tests themselves, the process of the tests, the ad hoc nature of the tests are not legitimate.”
‘There is no reason for the test. The test was, as far as we can see, taken arbitrarily.
‘The decision I saw in the media is also related to the competition in which one of the boxers beat a Russian boxer.’
Asked if he questioned the actual outcome of the tests, Adams said: “The whole process is flawed and therefore not for me as a spokesperson.”
“I’m not a medical expert, but the whole process is flawed.”
Adams spoke at the same time that featherweight Yu-Ting faced a token protest from her opponent in a unanimous decision victory.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams confirmed the IBA letter had been received but questioned its validity.
At the final bell, Bulgarian Svetlana Staneva took off her gloves, pointed at herself and made an X with her fingers. The Bulgarian’s coach also held a white piece of paper on which was written: “I only want to play with women. I am XX.”
“I’m not a doctor, so I shouldn’t say whether Lin should compete or not,” Borislav Georgiev added. “But when the analysis shows that she has Y (male) chromosomes, she can’t be here.”
Khelif will fight Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng in the semi-finals on Tuesday and the final will be on Friday. Yu-Ting will face Turkey’s Esra Yildiz Kahraman in the semi-finals on Wednesday and would advance to Saturday’s final if she wins.
