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Bruce ArthurPublished: August 2, 2024
PARIS—One true thing the Olympic movement tells itself is that is it inspiring. If you are a child and you see a countryman or a countrywoman striving on a global stage, sacrificing and succeeding, you might see yourself and a goal, even a future. The reason the Olympics succeed despite everything is that they sell the human spirit. There’s nothing like it.
The story of Algerian women’s boxer Imane Khelif was largely unknown before these Olympics. She had boxed since 2018, yes, and her only global medal came in 2022, a silver at the worlds. She is not a knockout puncher. Then came these Olympics and the loudest, emptiest, most vicious scandal at an Olympics in memory.
But it’s real enough at the same time. The British press in particular is attacking this like a bloodhound and should know better. Because the sole source of the idea that Khelif is not a woman comes from International Boxing Association president Umar Kremlev and his cronies. And that’s a problem.
Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan were disqualified from the 2023 worlds midway through the tournament, a few days after Khelif defeated touted Russian boxer Azalia Amineva in the 63-to-66-kilogram semifinal.
The IBA only posted information on a Russian channel of Telegram, a social media network. It claims there were tests in 2022 and 2023, and that the boxers had failed an unspecified test ”because they have XY chromosomes.” That was picked up by Russian state media outlet TASS.
The IBA only posted information on a Russian channel of Telegram, a social media network. It claims there were tests in 2022 and 2023, and that the boxers had failed an unspecified test ”because they have XY chromosomes.” That was picked up by Russian state media outlet TASS.
The type of tests have not been made public. The values of said tests have not been made public. The IBA is a deeply corrupt operation, sponsored by Russian gas giant Gazprom, and has been at war with the IOC since being suspended as a federation in 2019 and rendered unrecognized as a federation in 2023.
Then Khelif defeated a skittish Carini and a tidal wave of culture-war outrage was unleashed based entirely on unverified bilge from a disgraced, corrupt federation run by a Putin stooge who calls IOC president Thomas Bach “a chief sodomite” and the 2024 Games “outright sodomy.”
There are real scandals that grip Olympics. This one feels like a sort of madness.
“Just to reiterate, the Algerian boxer was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport,” said International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams. “This is not a transgender case. There has been some confusion that somehow it's a man fighting a woman. That's just not the case, on that there is consensus. This is not a man fighting a woman.”
On the tests, Adams said, “We don't know what the protocol was, we don't know whether the test was accurate, we don't know if we believe the test. There's a difference between a test taking place and whether we accept the accuracy or even the protocol of the test.”
It’s hard to trust the IOC, of course. They are administering the boxing here, in the absence of a competent federation; they set the entry rules on gender, which relies to a great degree on the gender on your passport.
But the IBA and Kremlev have all the credibility of a Russian bot farm. Nothing they say can be relied upon without proof.
So maybe we let Khelif tell her story. She was made an ambassador for UNICEF this year and gave an interview earlier this year. She said when she was a child in rural Algeria she preferred soccer, but it wasn’t a sport for girls and the boys were threatened by how good she was, so they’d try to fight her. She got good at fighting but her father, a welder in the Sahara, didn’t approve of girls boxing. So Khelif sold scrap metal and her mother sold couscous to pay for the bus rides to practice in the next village. She wants to inspire girls and children in Algeria.
Adams said the IOC was in close contact with the Khelif camp. When asked about the safety of athletes, Adams said, “That's an entirely separate question to what is going on here, which is a woman boxer being stigmatized and potentially forced out of the competition.”
The Olympics are being eaten by culture wars. First came the opening ceremony — not just the question of LGBTQ people re-enacting either The Last Supper or a Dutch Bacchus piece, but also the beheaded Marie Antoinette being called satanic — and now women’s boxing. If this was a Russian op, it was almost too easy. If this is merely a corrupt federation throwing a stink bomb at the IOC, it was almost too easy.
But the unseemly chase for scandal continues. Lin, the other boxer the IBA disqualified, fought an Uzbek Friday. Lin used her superior reach and punching precision to win a unanimous decision. The Uzbek, Sitora Turdibekova, left the ring in tears, didn’t shake hands and did not talk to the voluminous number of press. But then, she had just been knocked out of the Olympics and punched in the face.
All this makes you think about what the Olympics are inspiring. What would little Algerian girls think, watching this feast of baseless bigotry? What would girls who are a little different — a little less traditionally feminine, a little different — think, watching all these people try to destroy a woman in the name of protecting women? Again, there is zero verifiable evidence Khelif and Lin are anything but.
And Friday afternoon, Carini said she accepted that Khelif could fight here and told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke. I don’t have anything against Khelif. Actually, if I were to meet her again I would embrace her.”
The concept of gender is complex, nuanced, and scientifically and culturally difficult. The Olympics are a massive thing; beyond elephantine, beyond colossal. And yet in the past two days they have been swallowed by almost nothing at all.
Bruce Arthur is a columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @bruce_arthur.
www.thestar.com
From the article:
“Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan were disqualified from the 2023 worlds midway through the tournament, a few days after Khelif defeated touted Russian boxer Azalia Amineva in the 63-to-66-kilogram semifinal.
The IBA only posted information on a Russian channel of Telegram, a social media network. It claims there were tests in 2022 and 2023, and that the boxers had failed an unspecified test ”because they have XY chromosomes.” That was picked up by Russian state media outlet TASS.
The IBA only posted information on a Russian channel of Telegram, a social media network. It claims there were tests in 2022 and 2023, and that the boxers had failed an unspecified test ”because they have XY chromosomes.” That was picked up by Russian state media outlet TASS.
The type of tests have not been made public. The values of said tests have not been made public. The IBA is a deeply corrupt operation, sponsored by Russian gas giant Gazprom, and has been at war with the IOC since being suspended as a federation in 2019 and rendered unrecognized as a federation in 2023.”
and
“It’s hard to trust the IOC, of course. They are administering the boxing here, in the absence of a competent federation; they set the entry rules on gender, which relies to a great degree on the gender on your passport.
But the IBA and Kremlev have all the credibility of a Russian bot farm. Nothing they say can be relied upon without proof.”
Real scandals often grip the Olympics. The case of Imane Khelif feels more like a sort of madness
Bruce ArthurPublished: August 2, 2024
PARIS—One true thing the Olympic movement tells itself is that is it inspiring. If you are a child and you see a countryman or a countrywoman striving on a global stage, sacrificing and succeeding, you might see yourself and a goal, even a future. The reason the Olympics succeed despite everything is that they sell the human spirit. There’s nothing like it.
The story of Algerian women’s boxer Imane Khelif was largely unknown before these Olympics. She had boxed since 2018, yes, and her only global medal came in 2022, a silver at the worlds. She is not a knockout puncher. Then came these Olympics and the loudest, emptiest, most vicious scandal at an Olympics in memory.
But it’s real enough at the same time. The British press in particular is attacking this like a bloodhound and should know better. Because the sole source of the idea that Khelif is not a woman comes from International Boxing Association president Umar Kremlev and his cronies. And that’s a problem.
Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan were disqualified from the 2023 worlds midway through the tournament, a few days after Khelif defeated touted Russian boxer Azalia Amineva in the 63-to-66-kilogram semifinal.
The IBA only posted information on a Russian channel of Telegram, a social media network. It claims there were tests in 2022 and 2023, and that the boxers had failed an unspecified test ”because they have XY chromosomes.” That was picked up by Russian state media outlet TASS.
The IBA only posted information on a Russian channel of Telegram, a social media network. It claims there were tests in 2022 and 2023, and that the boxers had failed an unspecified test ”because they have XY chromosomes.” That was picked up by Russian state media outlet TASS.
The type of tests have not been made public. The values of said tests have not been made public. The IBA is a deeply corrupt operation, sponsored by Russian gas giant Gazprom, and has been at war with the IOC since being suspended as a federation in 2019 and rendered unrecognized as a federation in 2023.
Then Khelif defeated a skittish Carini and a tidal wave of culture-war outrage was unleashed based entirely on unverified bilge from a disgraced, corrupt federation run by a Putin stooge who calls IOC president Thomas Bach “a chief sodomite” and the 2024 Games “outright sodomy.”
There are real scandals that grip Olympics. This one feels like a sort of madness.
“Just to reiterate, the Algerian boxer was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport,” said International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams. “This is not a transgender case. There has been some confusion that somehow it's a man fighting a woman. That's just not the case, on that there is consensus. This is not a man fighting a woman.”
On the tests, Adams said, “We don't know what the protocol was, we don't know whether the test was accurate, we don't know if we believe the test. There's a difference between a test taking place and whether we accept the accuracy or even the protocol of the test.”
It’s hard to trust the IOC, of course. They are administering the boxing here, in the absence of a competent federation; they set the entry rules on gender, which relies to a great degree on the gender on your passport.
But the IBA and Kremlev have all the credibility of a Russian bot farm. Nothing they say can be relied upon without proof.
So maybe we let Khelif tell her story. She was made an ambassador for UNICEF this year and gave an interview earlier this year. She said when she was a child in rural Algeria she preferred soccer, but it wasn’t a sport for girls and the boys were threatened by how good she was, so they’d try to fight her. She got good at fighting but her father, a welder in the Sahara, didn’t approve of girls boxing. So Khelif sold scrap metal and her mother sold couscous to pay for the bus rides to practice in the next village. She wants to inspire girls and children in Algeria.
Adams said the IOC was in close contact with the Khelif camp. When asked about the safety of athletes, Adams said, “That's an entirely separate question to what is going on here, which is a woman boxer being stigmatized and potentially forced out of the competition.”
The Olympics are being eaten by culture wars. First came the opening ceremony — not just the question of LGBTQ people re-enacting either The Last Supper or a Dutch Bacchus piece, but also the beheaded Marie Antoinette being called satanic — and now women’s boxing. If this was a Russian op, it was almost too easy. If this is merely a corrupt federation throwing a stink bomb at the IOC, it was almost too easy.
But the unseemly chase for scandal continues. Lin, the other boxer the IBA disqualified, fought an Uzbek Friday. Lin used her superior reach and punching precision to win a unanimous decision. The Uzbek, Sitora Turdibekova, left the ring in tears, didn’t shake hands and did not talk to the voluminous number of press. But then, she had just been knocked out of the Olympics and punched in the face.
All this makes you think about what the Olympics are inspiring. What would little Algerian girls think, watching this feast of baseless bigotry? What would girls who are a little different — a little less traditionally feminine, a little different — think, watching all these people try to destroy a woman in the name of protecting women? Again, there is zero verifiable evidence Khelif and Lin are anything but.
And Friday afternoon, Carini said she accepted that Khelif could fight here and told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke. I don’t have anything against Khelif. Actually, if I were to meet her again I would embrace her.”
The concept of gender is complex, nuanced, and scientifically and culturally difficult. The Olympics are a massive thing; beyond elephantine, beyond colossal. And yet in the past two days they have been swallowed by almost nothing at all.
Bruce Arthur is a columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @bruce_arthur.
Bruce Arthur: Real scandals often grip the Olympics. The case of Imane Khelif feels more like a sort of madness
What would little Algerian girls think, watching this feast of baseless bigotry?
From the article:
“Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan were disqualified from the 2023 worlds midway through the tournament, a few days after Khelif defeated touted Russian boxer Azalia Amineva in the 63-to-66-kilogram semifinal.
The IBA only posted information on a Russian channel of Telegram, a social media network. It claims there were tests in 2022 and 2023, and that the boxers had failed an unspecified test ”because they have XY chromosomes.” That was picked up by Russian state media outlet TASS.
The IBA only posted information on a Russian channel of Telegram, a social media network. It claims there were tests in 2022 and 2023, and that the boxers had failed an unspecified test ”because they have XY chromosomes.” That was picked up by Russian state media outlet TASS.
The type of tests have not been made public. The values of said tests have not been made public. The IBA is a deeply corrupt operation, sponsored by Russian gas giant Gazprom, and has been at war with the IOC since being suspended as a federation in 2019 and rendered unrecognized as a federation in 2023.”
and
“It’s hard to trust the IOC, of course. They are administering the boxing here, in the absence of a competent federation; they set the entry rules on gender, which relies to a great degree on the gender on your passport.
But the IBA and Kremlev have all the credibility of a Russian bot farm. Nothing they say can be relied upon without proof.”
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