Olympics rules around gender explained as boxer ends fight with opponent after just 46 seconds

Olympics officials have addressed eligibility concerns surrounding gender following Angela Carini ending her fight with Imane Khelif.

The Italian boxer went toe-to-toe with the Algerian fighter Imane Khelif in Paris today - however, 46 seconds in, Carini ended the fight after being on the receiving end of a few painful punches.

Carini was seen falling to her knees and breaking into tears in the ring as Khelif's arm was lifted to symbolise her win.

Khelif, along with Taiwanese athlete, Lin Yu-ting, had been previously disqualified at the 2023 World Championships for reportedly failing gender eligibility tests.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has defended their rights to compete, however, with IOC spokesperson Mark Adams saying: "Everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules.

"They are women in their passports and it’s stated that this is the case, that they are female. They've been competing in boxing for a very long time.

“They've achieved all the eligibility requirements in terms of sex and age. We're following the rules in place in Tokyo."

So what are the guidelines surrounding gender eligibility?

Imane Khelif won the fight against Angela Carini after she pulled out. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Who's in charge of boxing at the Olympics?

The IOC provide a framework to international federations that look after each sport, which, in this case, should have been the International Boxing Association.

However, the IBA was denied the right to run the Olympic boxing by the IOC and was stripped of it's recognition last year as the global body of boxing due to various alleged issues, which the IBA called a 'tremendous error' as reported by Reuters.

In 2021, the IOC gave away the role to an ad-hoc company for the Tokyo Games, USA Today reports.

But even though the IOC provides a framework to these companies, it’s ‘nonbinding’ and not completely up to the IOC.

When the IBA had control of the world championships and gender eligibility rules, Khelif was stripped of her bronze medal, which she won in March 2023, because it was claimed she'd failed the eligibility test.

IBA president Umar Kremlev also claimed the DNA tests had ‘proved they had XY chromosomes and were thus excluded'.

The IBA further told The Guardian that the decision was made 'following a comprehensive review and was intended to uphold the fairness and integrity of the competition'.

What is the eligibility criteria?

Adams said: “I would just say that everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules.

“They are women in their passports and it is stated that is the case.”

He also said that there had been some 'misreporting' from the press regarding the tests.

He explained that it ‘was not a transgender issue', as 'these women have been competing as women for many years', adding: “What I would say just quickly on testosterone is, the testosterone (test) is not a perfect test.

"Many women can have testosterone, even what would be called 'male levels' and still be women and still compete as women.

The criteria is simple. (MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images)

"So this is not a panacea − this idea that suddenly you test, do one test for testosterone. Each sport needs to deal with this issue but I think we agreed, I hope we're agreed, we're not going to go back to the bad old days of 'sex testing'.

"That would be a bad idea."

He also said that the rules regarding who should compete in the women's category were 'complex' and it's a 'difficult balance' to ensure fairness, but it should be up to the sport to make a decision rather than the IOC, The Guardian reports.

Not too long ago, the NCAA required transgender female athletes to have undergone one year of testosterone suppression, but has since faced pressure to change the guidelines since the NAIA banned all transgender athletes from competing in women's sports.

Who are Khelif and Lin?

Khelif is 25 years old and debuted in the 2018 Balkan Women's Tournament.

She then went on to win a silver medal at the 2022 world championships.

Having garnered a record of 36-9 with four knockouts, according to BoxRec, she has been steadily rising to the top of her field.

Meanwhile, Lin Yu Ting is 29 and from Taiwan. She made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games, where she lost in the featherweight round.

She won three World championships for bantamweight and featherweight in 2018, 2019 and 2022, according to the Olympics website.