Who Is Lin Yu-Ting? Olympic Boxer Who Failed Gender Eligibility Test

Olympic boxer Lin Yu-ting failed two gender eligibility tests at the 2023 World Championships but competed Friday at the Paris Olympics.

Lin is a 28-year-old two-time world champion from Taiwan. Lin and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif were permitted to take part in this year’s Olympics after being disqualified from the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) world championships in 2023 for failing gender eligibility tests. Neither Lin nor Khelif identifies as transgender.

The IBA released a statement last week saying the two boxers “did not undergo a testosterone examination” but were subject to “separate and recognized” tests that will remain confidential.

IBA President Umar Kremlev told Russian news agency Tass last year that Khelif and Lin were disqualified from the world championships because “it was proven they have XY chromosomes.”

Kremlev has not made proof of his assertions public. The Associated Press reports that Khelif is listed as female on her passport.

In a statement Thursday, the IBA stood by its decision to remove Lin and Khelif from the championships.

“The IBA will never support any boxing bouts between the genders, as the organization puts the safety and well-being of our athletes first,” it wrote. “We are protecting our women and their rights to compete in the ring against equal rivals, and we will defend and support them in all instances; their hopes and dreams must never be taken away by organisations unwilling to do the right thing under difficult circumstances.”

Newsweek reached out to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) via an online form and the IBA via email for comment.

Lin made her debut at the AIBA World Women’s Youth Championships in 2013. She won gold at the competition in Bulgaria’s Albena resort. She went on to win gold in New Delhi at the 2018 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships at bantamweight and gold in Istanbul in 2022 at featherweight.

The champion boxer competed in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, along with Khelif, who won a silver medal at the IBA’s 2022 world championships.

In 2023, Lin was stripped of her bronze medal by the IBA after failing the association’s gender eligibility requirements.

“IBA remains committed in ensuring competitive fairness in all of our events, we absolutely condemn the inconsistencies in eligibility to compete in the boxing competition held in the Paris Olympic Games 2024,” the boxing organization said in Thursday’s statement.

“To reiterate, both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting post testing did not meet the required eligibility criteria to compete within the female category of our respective events,” the IBA said.

Meanwhile, the IOC defended its decision to allow Lin and Khelif to complete, writing in a statement on Thursday, “Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination.”

“These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process. According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO,” the organization said.

The IOC continued: “The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure — especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.”

“The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving,” it added.

On Thursday, Khelif won her round of 16 welterweight bout against Italian boxer Angela Carini in 46 seconds. Carini pulled out of the fight after a barrage of punches by Khelif ending with a powerful hit to Carini’s nose.

Lin entered the ring on Friday morning against Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan and won 5:0 in the women’s 57-kilogram division.

Update 8/2/24, 10:25 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and background.