Imane Khelif vs IBA: The Boxing Association of Evil

It is the biggest Olympic upset so far: Angela Carini’s surrender in the boxing ring against Imane Khelif in the round of 16 of women’s boxing at the Olympics. “I have never been hit so hard,” said Carini in tears, shortly after she stopped the fight against Khelif after just 46 seconds and two hits to the head.

What the Italian’s statement implied: She had not been in the ring with a woman, Khelif was a biological man who hit harder than any of her opponents. The Algerian had won unfairly, was the indirect accusation that was immediately picked up on social media.

For days, thousands of users posted hate comments against Khelif. At first, it was said that she was a trans woman born male. When this turned out to be false, it was assumed that Khelif had the male sex chromosomes XY and was therefore intersex.

Suddenly there were perpetrators and victims

But there was one thing everyone agreed on: Khelif had won unfairly and Carini was a victim. They had no evidence to support their assumptions about Khelif’s gender. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) intervened, Carini apologized for the statements she made in her tearful interview, and Khelif warned of the damage such hatred could cause.

The sporting world was therefore eagerly awaiting a press conference announced for Monday afternoon, at which the International Boxing Association (IBA) wanted to shed light on the case. The controversial association had excluded Khelif and the Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu Ting from the 2023 Boxing World Championship after unspecified gender tests. And the event was set to be something special.

Imane Khelif was “not eligible” for the 2022 World Cup

To start with, the question and answer session will begin one hour late due to technical problems. IBA representatives present are CEO Chris Roberts, doctor Dr. Ioannis Filippatos and Secretary General Gabriele Martelli. IBA President Umar Kremlev will be joining from Russia.

In an introductory statement, Roberts said that today we would learn details about why the IBA disqualified Khelif and Yu Ting from last year’s World Championship. The chronology of Khelif and Yu Ting’s tests is as follows: At the 2022 World Championships in Istanbul, boxers and coaches had concerns about the gender of the two athletes. A blood test was then carried out. However, the results were inconclusive, and so a second test was necessary, said Roberts.

On March 17, 2023, a second blood test was carried out on both boxers. These tests showed that both should not be allowed to compete in women’s competitions. Khelif and Yu Ting were subsequently excluded from the World Championships on March 26, 2023.

IBA President Umar Kremlev attacks IOC

Then the face of IBA President Umar Kremlev is projected behind the three officials via live video link. He says that women’s boxing is being “killed” and the integrity of women’s sport is being “destroyed”. The reason is the IOC and its decision to allow athletes like Khelif and Yu Ting to compete with ambiguous gender identities. The IBA, he argues, is the only body that is able to stand up for the athletes.

Kremlev delivers a monologue that lasts for over 20 minutes, sometimes angry, and does not seem like a well-considered speech, but rather like an incoherent tirade – with frequent and vitriolic attacks on Thomas Bach, the President of the IOC, who Kremlev probably sees as his own personal opponent. Bach has recently been increasingly critical of the IBA.

At this point, the knowledge gained from the bizarre event is zero. The details mentioned (and poor ones) were already public. When specialist Dr. Ioannis Filippatos reaches for the microphone, those present hope for clarity, but are only further confused.

Doctor present feels out of place

Filippato’s role at the event seems clear: he is supposed to lend scientific legitimacy to the IBA position. However, through his demeanor and his sometimes confused statements, he achieves the opposite. He says he has been a doctor for 30 years and is “about 59 years old” and prefers to practice as a doctor rather than give press conferences. He is also the European president of the IBA, but emphasizes that he is speaking here as a doctor. He is an expert in particular in in vitro fertilization, a variant of artificial insemination that is carried out in a test tube. Why his expertise should be important for the case is not clear.

The event now seems completely unreal. Filippatos is going from one topic to the next, going in circles, not getting to the point. “You must know the truth,” he says. And adds that he respects Thomas Bach’s view, but not his view that the science behind Khelif and Lin’s bans is bad. “For me, the science is not bad.”

Filippatos explains that the IBA requires them to determine whether certain boxers are men or women, and that is why they have started testing the boxers. Then it goes completely crazy: “I have performed 5,000 operations and I don’t know how many babies I have delivered. It is not possible to say that you do not know what a woman is. Let the doctors speak!”

Hot air and bang effects

With every passing minute it becomes clearer: the IBA is not interested in a real explanation. Critical questions, such as those about financing by the Russian state-owned company Gazprom, are brushed aside, the officials see themselves as victims, and President Kremlev’s repetitive angry monologues seem almost comical.

The mood in the room seems to be getting more and more heated, the journalists present feel that their questions are being ignored, and every now and then there is a loud bang as a loudspeaker explodes. The informative press conference is as chaotic as the debate about Imane Khelif.

A final clarification would be desirable – for people and for the sport.