Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting were probably the most controversial figures of the Olympic Games in Paris. The boxers won gold. Her successes were accompanied by a heated gender debate, in which one opponent followed up months after the games.
Several weeks after winning the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Paris, boxer Esra Yildiz Kahraman has followed up on the gender debate surrounding athletes Lin Yu-ting and Imane Khelif. “Competing against them is not equal, and none of us feel that it is a fair competition,” the Turkish woman was quoted as saying in a statement published by the controversial Iba association.
During the games in Paris, a heated debate arose about the Algerian Khelif and the Taiwanese Lin. Both had won the Olympics in their weight classes. The Iba had previously excluded Khelif and Lin from the 2023 World Cup after controversial gender tests. The association saw competitive advantages for both boxers compared to other female participants.
The International Olympic Committee, which removed Iba as the boxing governing body, called it an arbitrary decision without due process and allowed both to take part in Paris.
“I am a woman, lived as a woman, fought as a woman”
According to Yildiz, who was defeated by Lin in the semifinals in the featherweight weight class, the performances of both athletes in the ring showed that there was an imbalance. “It is unfair that athletes who were disqualified from the Iba Women’s World Boxing Championships took part in the Paris Olympics. This is not fair at all, not at all,” Yildiz said.
The participation of the two boxers in the Olympic Games made waves around the world. Khelif in particular was exposed to a lot of hostility. After winning the gold medal, she made a roundabout statement: “I am a woman, I lived as a woman, fought as a woman. There are enemies. Enemies of success. And their attacks give my success a very special flavor.” This gold medal is her answer and the reply to “the whole world that was against me. There was a vicious campaign against me. I am a strong woman, a woman with special strength.”
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