Five French boxers cannot compete at the World Championships in Liverpool because their gender test results did not arrive in time. The French Boxing Federation announced on Wednesday evening that it received this decision “with astonishment and outrage.” The tournament runs until 14 September in Liverpool.
Federation Blames Failures on World Boxing
French law prohibits gender tests, which made it impossible to carry them out in France before the event. World Boxing knew about this from the start and referred the athletes to a lab in Leeds, two hours from Liverpool. The French federation said World Boxing assured them that if the tests were conducted on Monday, results would be ready within 24 hours. That would have allowed the boxers to register in time. However, the lab failed to deliver the results quickly enough. Boxers from other delegations also faced exclusion for the same reason. French Sports Minister Marie Barsacq called the incident “unacceptable.”
Background on the Gender Testing Rules
World Boxing introduced mandatory gender tests for the women’s category at the World Championships after debates over Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting during the Paris Olympics. Under the new rules, adult athletes must undergo a PCR test or equivalent genetic screening to confirm their sex at birth. Khelif has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the ruling that bars her from competing in upcoming events without prior genetic testing.
