Imane Khelif, an Olympic champion from Algeria, accuses Elon Musk and Donald Trump, among others, of online harassment on platform X. She and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, who won the final fight with the Polish Julia Szeremeta, became the protagonists of the dispute over whether they are really women. Where did these doubts come from? It is about testosterone levels and chromosomes, as well as the previous disqualification of the International Boxing Federation, in which Vladimir Putin has influence.
A flight escorted by F-16 fighters, and then a ceremonial welcome for the Olympic gold medalist – Lin Yu-ting is a heroine in Taiwan. – Thanks to your support, my hard work has been appreciated and noticed by everyone, the world has learned where Taiwan is – said Lin Yu-ting at the airport.
Lin Yu-ting won Taiwan's first Olympic boxing gold medal after her fight with Julia Szeremeta, and no one there has any doubts that she is a woman. “I am very proud that she won the gold medal, because from the beginning she had to endure a huge wave of criticism and groundless accusations from all over the world,” said student Sung Ruei-Chi.
SEE ALSO: Julia Szeremeta won silver in boxing. In the final she lost to Lin Yu-ting
The Taiwanese athlete was one of two athletes who were the subject of a gender debate throughout the games. The other, also an Olympic champion, is Algerian Imane Khelif, who has just filed a criminal complaint in France against platform X for persistent online harassment. The lawsuit names, among others, Elon Musk, JK Rowling and Donald Trump.
– I have all the qualifications to take part in this tournament. I am a woman like any other, I was born a woman, I have lived as a woman and I have competed as a woman, there is no doubt about it. There are enemies of my success and this gives it a special flavor – declared Imane Khelif.
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Gender Test and Putin-Linked Federation
The controversy was sparked by last year's decision by the International Boxing Federation to disqualify boxers from the world championships because they had failed a gender test. The federation is closely linked to Vladimir Putin and is sponsored by Gazprom. The International Olympic Committee said the tests were unprofessional and their results could not be taken seriously.
“The tests themselves, the way they were conducted, the idea of doing them at the last minute, none of that is justified and deserves no comment,” said Mark Adams of the International Olympic Committee.
The International Boxing Federation suggested that the boxers had too much testosterone and a male set of sex chromosomes, and therefore an advantage over their rivals. None of these fighters are transgender. They were born and raised as women.
– Sports have been fighting for these indicators since women started participating in competitive sports, almost a hundred years ago, none have been found, many mistakes have been made, many people have been wronged while looking for this unambiguous indicator of gender. There is none. At the moment, the biological, most important parameter is testosterone concentration – indicates Prof. Marek Mędraś, an endocrinologist from the Medical University in Wrocław.
The IOC says the athletes passed all tests and examinations before competing in the Olympics. Their gender was determined by what was written on their passports.
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