The president of the World Boxing apologized after the Olympic champion Imane Khelif was indicated in the announcement of the governing body of making sexual tests mandatory.
The Algerian boxer Khelif, who won gold at the Paris Games last summer in the midst of scrutiny about his eligibility, was specifically mentioned when World Boxing launched its new policy last Friday.
On Monday, its president Boris van der Vortst contacted the Algerian Boxing Federation to recognize that it was wrong.
“I write to all personally to offer a formal and sincere apology for this and recognize that their privacy should have been protected,” he wrote in a letter seen by Associated Press.
Van der Vortst added that he expected to “communicate with you personally, we show our true respect for you and your athletes.”
Khelif and his fellow gold medalist Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan were at the Center for Attention in Paris because the previous government body for the Olympic boxing, the International Boxing Association, disqualified both combatants of their 2023 World Championship, claiming that they failed an unspecified eligibility test.
However, the International Olympic Committee applied sexual eligibility rules used at the previous Olympic Games and cleared Khelif and Lin to compete.
World Boxing has been provisionally approved as the boxing organizer in the 2028 Los Angeles Games and has faced the pressure of boxers and their federations to create standards of sexual eligibility.
He said there will be mandatory evidence for all boxers from July 1 to “guarantee the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level play field for men and women.”
The governing body announced that all athletes over 18 in their competitions must suffer a genetic test of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine their sex at birth. The PCR test detects chromosomal material through an oral swab, saliva or blood.
If it is determined that an athlete who intends to compete in the categories of women has male chromosomal material, “the initial projections will be sent to independent clinical specialists for genetic detection, hormonal profiles, anatomical examination or other assessment of endocrine profiles by medical specialists,” said World Boxing. Politics also includes an appeal process.
Khelif plans to defend his gold medal at the Los Angeles Games, but some boxers and their federations have already spoken against their inclusion.
He intended to return to international competition this month in the Eindhoven Cup in the Netherlands.
