French Women’s Boxing Team Disqualified Over Gender Testing…

The French women’s boxing team has been disqualified from the World Boxing Championships due to their failure to submit gender test results on time, according to the French Boxing Federation. Earlier, World Boxing announced that all women participants in the event in Liverpool will have to take mandatory genetic sex testing, under a new policy. However, in France, such testing has been banned since a 1994 law, except under specific conditions, hence the delay in testing.

According to French Boxing Federation, the five boxers finished their testing at a World Boxing-approved lab, hoping that the results would be ready by the deadline. However, World Boxing shifted the blame for the delay onto the national federations, stating that they were responsible for the testing process as they have closer ties to their boxers.

French Sports Minister, Marie Barsacq described this decision as “inadmissible”. The French boxing federation also expressed their shock and indignation over the news. One of the five affected French boxers, Maelys Richol, voiced her frustration, anger and disappointment. World Boxing defended its gender eligibility policy, stating it is meant to ensure the safety of all participants and establish a competitive level playing field.

This issue has been a major concern in boxing since the Paris Olympics last year when Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting were at the center of a gender controversy. Khelif has since taken the issue to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to challenge World Boxing’s implementation of the genetic sex test. Both Khelif or Lin will not be competing in Liverpool.

In the Paris Games, both women were targets of social media attacks regarding their biological sex. The International Olympic Committee defended them, stating they were born and raised as women. This debate on eligibility in women’s sports categories has extended to athletics and swimming as well – athletics also introduced a gender test this month.