OAN Staff James Meyers
11:02 AM – Thursday, August 8, 2024
Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting is now on her way to the gold medal boxing match after a storm of gender-related controversy took over most of her 2024 Olympics experience.
The Taiwanese boxer will take home nothing less than a silver medal after defeating Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkey in one of the two women’s 57-kilogram semi-final matches.
Yildiz Kahraman approached the fight utilizing several different combinations of moves, unlike other fighters who felt forced to quit before really going the distance.
However, it was still not enough, as Yu-Ting went on to achieve another dominating victory, winning all five rounds (5-0) and advancing to face Poland’s boxer, Julia Szeremeta.
Despite the win, Yildiz Kahraman, who will receive a bronze medal, joined in with other fighters who have lost to Yu-ting by openly expressing a gesture of an X with her index fingers and moving her hands back-and-forth, signifying XX chromosomes, what women with “normal” levels of testosterone have.
Yu-Ting’s sex has been consistently questioned throughout the games.
At the 2023 Women’s Boxing World Championships, Lin Yu-ting was stripped of her medal and banned by the International Boxing Association (IBA). She had failed an unspecified gender eligibility test, according to AP News. This typically happens when the test detects elevated levels of testosterone in a female athlete.
IBA president Umar Kremlev said at the time that Yu-ting’s DNA test “proved they had XY chromosomes.”
“Yu-Ting and Khelif are not transgender, they were born female, but tests show that their DNA contains the usually male-associated XY chromosomes, rather than usually female-associated XX chromosomes, meaning their testosterone levels are more akin to that of a man’s, who can punch up to 2.6 times harder than a woman,” according to Yahoo News.
Khelif is an Algerian boxer whose gender has been similarly questioned throughout this year’s Olympic games.
Both fighters have not lost a single round in all three of their fights so far.
IBA secretary general Chris Roberts said on Monday that the IBA will not reveal those test results, but suggested “you can read between the lines [on] what it means.”
Despite the IBA’s test results, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has repeatedly defended the two boxers. The IOC has different eligibility tests and has also banned the IBA from the Olympics.
“The Algerian boxer was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, and has a female passport,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said regarding Khelif.
Additionally, IOC President Thomas Bach stated that the IOC will not be involved in a “culture war.”
“What is going on in this context, in the social media with all this hate speech, with this aggression and abuse, and fueled by this agenda, is totally unacceptable,” he added.
Multiple sports have updated their gender rules over the past three years, including World Aquatics, World Athletics, and the International Cycling Union.
Yu-Ting’s 57g gold medal bout is set for Saturday, August 10th and Khalif’s 75-kilogram final will take place on Friday, August 9th.
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