Australian featherweight world champion Skye Nicolson has defended the boxers at the centre of the Olympic gender row, accusing people of “jumping on the bandwagon without knowing all the details”.
Nicolson, who won the WBC featherweight title earlier this year, revealed in a video on her Instagram story that she fought and trained with Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting, who are embroiled in controversy at this summer’s Olympics.
The two fighters were cleared to compete in the women’s category in Paris despite being banned from last year’s world championships after tests allegedly showed they contained male “XY chromosomes.”
As a result, their participation in the Olympics has sparked outrage online and in the media, with several high-profile figures criticising the decision to allow them to fight.
However, Nicolson has stressed that both Khelif and Yu-Ting were born female, while criticising her critics for jumping to conclusions.
Women’s featherweight world champion Skye Nicolson has defended the female boxers at the centre of the Olympic gender row
Imane Khelif (left) and Lin Yu-Ting (right) have been cleared to compete in the women’s category despite being banned from last year’s world championships amid questions about their gender.
The Australian boxer said in her video message: ‘I just want to clarify a couple of things: 1. I actually fought and sparred with both girls. They were born female.
‘They were born with an XY chromosome, which is the male chromosome, but they were born with female bodies. They have the physical attributes of a woman.
“They have grown up as girls, as females, as women. They have competed as women all the time. They are not men by nature who have decided to call themselves women or identify as women to fight against women in the Olympics.”
Khelif, who also competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, was disqualified from the 2023 world championships after failing gender eligibility tests ahead of her scheduled gold medal bout, while Yu-Ting was stripped of her bronze following a similar result.
At the time of their disqualification, Umar Kremlev, president of the International Boxing Association (IBA), claimed that tests had shown the athletes had “XY chromosomes”.
He added that “they discovered athletes trying to deceive their colleagues and pretend to be women.”
Nicolson, who has fought and sparred with both women, stressed that both were born female.
The Australian boxer has held the WBC featherweight title since April this year.
Nicolson continued: ‘So at the random world championships, when the IBA decided to do chromosome testing, that’s when it was discovered that these two athletes had XY chromosomes.
‘It wasn’t a testosterone test, it’s not like they failed something like that. It wasn’t a physical test, they don’t have the physical attributes of a man.
‘And while it’s a bit of a grey area, I think the abuse and power of the media and people jumping on the bandwagon without knowing all the details is honestly horrifying.
“These girls have represented their country on numerous occasions over many, many years as wrestlers and they do not deserve this mistreatment. I think they have been unfortunate to be in the situation they are in and to be subject to all this scrutiny.”
To further fuel the outrage, Khelif completely dominated Italy’s Angela Carini in her short-lived opening bout at the Olympics on Thursday, forcing her female opponent to abandon the contest after just 46 seconds.
Yu-Ting also won her opening fight on Friday, albeit in less brutal fashion after outpointing Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova.
Khelif completely dominated Italy’s Angela Carini in her brief Olympic debut
Yu-Ting also won her opening fight on Friday, albeit in less brutal fashion after outpointing Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) released a statement on Wednesday amid the Olympics controversy, saying its decisions to disqualify both fighters were made “after a meticulous review.”
The IOC then issued a strongly worded statement in response on Friday: ‘All athletes participating in the boxing tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games comply with the competition eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set out by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit. In previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of athletes have been based on their passport.
‘Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process. According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO.’