World Boxing has announced mandatory gender tests for men and women wishing to compete in their events. The confirmation by the new governing body comes some two weeks before its inaugural championships in Liverpool September 4-14. The new policy came into effect on Wednesday. “The policy is designed to ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field for men and women,” World Boxing said. All athletes wishing to participate in a World Boxing competition will need to undergo a once-in-a-lifetime PCR (polymerase chain reaction) of functional medical equivalent genetic screening test to determine their sex at birth and their eligibility to compete.
Last month, World Athletics also introduced a sex test for athletes wishing to compete in the female category. The gender eligibility debate gained a lot of attention at last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris where Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan boxer Lin Yu-ting won gold medals after being allowed to compete by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). However, a year before, they were disqualified from the world championships of the International Boxing Federation (IBA) after allegedly failing gender tests. The IOC, which has run the last two Olympic boxing tournaments because it has suspended IBA for various reasons, has said Khelif and Lin could compete because they were born and identify as women. World Boxing was recognized as a partner by the IOC executive board in February and is set to take over the organization of the boxing competitions at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. (DPA)