- Khelif and Yu-ting won Olympic gold in Paris despite a row over their eligibility
- The International Olympic Committee is now facing legal action over the matter
- Boxer Ebanie Bridges says she would like to see both boxers banned
Former world champion boxer Ebanie Bridges supports banning gender-row boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting as Olympic officials face criminal complaints over the controversy.
Algerian Khelif and Yu-ting of Taiwan both won gold medals at last summer’s Olympics despite being disqualified from the 2023 World Championships for failing gender eligibility tests.
Now the International Boxing Association – the Russian-led body who administered those disputed 2023 tests – have launched legal action against the IOC.
Citing President Trump’s recent executive order banning transgender women from female sports in the USA, the IBA said they were filing complaints to the attorney generals of Switzerland, France and the USA ‘regarding the IOC’s actions that facilitated the participation of these ineligible athletes’.
The IBA claim that, according to Swiss law, ‘any action or inaction that poses a safety risk to competition participants warrants investigation and may serve as grounds for criminal prosecution’.
Bridges, the former IBF bantamweight champion, says it is a ‘tricky’ situation but she would like to see both fighters in question banned from the female category.
‘I think they should be banned,’ Bridges told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I think the IOC is trying to be too woke or whatever and [there] needs to be clear lines, or let women take steroids [to compete against these athletes].’
President Donald Trump last week said he would make moves to ensure that no transgender athletes participated in women’s sports at the 2028 summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Bridges welcomes the move.
‘I’m so happy Trump has put his foot down about this to keep integrity and save women’s sport because reality is if they let it continue, women won’t be winning sport anymore,’ Bridges said.
The IBA has offered to financially support any Paris 2024 boxers who wish to pursue legal action.
‘President Trump’s order to ban transgender athletes from women’s sport validates IBA’s efforts to protect the integrity of female sports,’ said IBA president Umar Kremlev.
‘Our actions aim to ensure gender equality in boxing.
‘IBA will provide free-of-charge comprehensive legal support to our boxers in these lawsuits, as this is a clear violation of human rights, an outrage towards the female boxers, and simply a crime that should be punished accordingly.
‘In my personal opinion, (IOC president) Thomas Bach should take the full responsibility for this, as he was in charge when it happened, and he needs to compensate the damages caused, if the court or any other instance rules this.’
The IOC stripped the IBA of their status as the sport’s world governing body in 2023 citing concerns over ethics and finances.
It meant the boxing tournament at last summer’s Olympics was ran by the IOC, who let Khelif and Yu-ting compete in Paris, claiming the IBA had not produced any evidence of their failed gender eligibility tests.
