Olympic boxing: Men vs women?

It finally happened in the Olympic Games. Gender uncertainty has stained the boxing tournament in Paris. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won her bout when her Italian opponent Angela Carini quit their bout after only 46 second with a suspected broken nose. But that’s not the issue.

The issue raised was whether or not Khelif is a biological female. At last year’s World Championships, the Algerian was supposedly disqualified for having too high a testosterone level. But this year, Khelif passed the necessary tests to qualify for the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee apparently approved Khelif for competition.

In her defense, some people raise the fact that Algeria is a predominantly Muslim country, where LGBTQ+ are forbidden. The assumption is that Algeria would never participate in such things. But this has become a very hot issue in a growing number of countries in a growing number of sport.

In the US, where personal freedom and individual expression are a priority, this has been a concern in mixed martial arts, volleyball and lately, swimming. Strangely, Title IX in America gives more scholarships to women than men. This may be an incentive for men to try to compete as women for a free education. In 2022, NCAA women swimmers complained when transgender athlete Lia Thomas was allowed to compete. Thomas, once ranked below 400th in men’s swimming, easily beat two Olympic medalists half her size. The height and length of limbs and strength provide built-in  advantages. They sued the NCAA over the matter.