Olympic head accuses Russia of ‘fake news campaign’ over boxers

WorldPolitics
15 Mar 2025 • 11:23 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

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  • International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has dismissed the gender controversy surrounding two boxers at the Paris Olympics as a Russian disinformation campaign.
  • The controversy stemmed from accusations by the International Boxing Association (IBA) that the IOC allowed two female athletes to compete despite being banned after a chromosome test.
  • Bach stated the boxers, Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, were born and raised as women and had competed as women for years, including at the Tokyo Olympics.
  • The IOC does not have a universal rule on transgender athletes or athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD), leaving regulations to each federation.
  • Bach will leave his role in June after 12 years in the job and made the comments in Greece where his successor is being elected.

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