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World Boxing’s new policy, announced last month, mandates genetic sex testing for all female boxing athletes over 18 to confirm chromosomal sex at birth. It is said that the policy is intended to ensure fairness and safety in competition. However, The reported controversy around genetic sex testing taps into a broader, emotionally charged debate about gender verification in sports, amplified by recent high-profile cases. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting faced intense scrutiny during the 2024 Paris Olympics after being disqualified from the 2023 IBA World Championships for allegedly failing gender tests.
In a recent controversy around this, the dreams of five French women boxers were shattered this week when they were barred from competing in the inaugural World Boxing Championships in Liverpool. The French Boxing Federation (FFBoxe) announced on Thursday that their team missed a critical deadline for submitting mandatory gender test results, a requirement imposed by World Boxing, the sport’s international governing body. “It is with stupefaction and indignation that we learned the French women’s boxing team would not be able to compete,” FFBoxe reportedly said in a statement. The championships, which kicked off on September 4 and run until September 14 in northwest England, have been overshadowed by controversy, with France not alone in facing exclusion.
Genetic sex testing is banned in France since 1994, except for specific medical purposes
This policy by World Boxing has sparked heated debate, particularly as it collides with national laws and logistical realities. In France, genetic sex testing has been banned since 1994, except for specific medical purposes, creating a significant hurdle for FFBoxe. To comply with World Boxing’s rules, the federation reportedly arranged for its five-member team to travel to a World Boxing-accredited laboratory in Leeds on Monday, just days before the championship’s start. “The laboratory they recommended was not globally unable to deliver the results on time. Our athletes, and others from different countries, have been caught in this trap and excluded,” the federation said in its reported statement.
Romane Moulai, a European Under-22 Champion in the 48kg category, and Sthelyne Grosy, a silver medalist at the 2021 Youth World Championships in the 57kg class, were among the athletes who pinned their hopes on the Leeds lab. Maelys Richol, competing in the 65kg category, spoke for her teammates when she shared her devastation on Instagram. “A year of sweat, sacrifice, and dreams, all gone because of someone else’s mistake. We’re angry, heartbroken, and left questioning why we’re being punished for something out of our control,” she reportedly wrote in the post.
