The Paris Olympics have been accused of “putting women’s lives at risk” after it was revealed that two boxers who were disqualified from last year’s World Championships for failing gender eligibility tests have been allowed to compete.
Fiona Mcanena, the author of Fair Play for Women, has blasted the Olympic Committee and said that it makes the competition “terrifying.”
Speaking to GB News, Mcanena said: “I think that there is no doubt that they are putting women’s lives at risk.
“Bear in mind that this is the state policy. They [International Olympic Committee] said that there should be no presumed advantage for trans-identifying, what they call transgender women or for people with differences of sex development, which is what we believe applies here.”
Fiona Mcanena blasted the Olympic Committee
GB News
She later added: “When your policy is driven by ideology rather than science, this is where you end up.
“Because the IOC made that statement in 2021 saying no presumed advantage based on trans identity or differences of sex development.
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“So now they’re stuck with following that through. If you say that trans women are women, then this is where you end up. These boxers, as we understand it, do not have trans identities, but they have disorders of sex development.
“They have male bodies. So the impact for women competing against them is the same. And it is indeed dangerous.
“But I would say, we shouldn’t have to wait until it’s seriously dangerous like this. We’ve known that it’s unfair.
“In the Tokyo Olympics, we had a male weight lifter in the women’s competition and everyone knew that was unfair and still nothing was done.
The two boxers have been cleared for the Paris Olympics
REUTERS
“So weightlifting internationally has finally changed its rules and now they don’t allow males in women’s competitions. But it took the Tokyo Olympics to make that change. This one is all really on the IOC. This is their choice. It’s their policy.”
She explained: “It’s not complicated to work out if someone’s male or female. There are lots of simple ways of doing that.
“Most people never get to the Olympics, so quite honestly, if they’re not good enough to box in the men’s category, they shouldn’t be there.
“There’s no right for people to get access to sport in order to perform. But there is an expectation that women and girls will have equal opportunity in sport and that has to mean not having to compete against anyone male. That’s what’s so simple about this.”
Fiona Mcanena said it is “dangerous” to women
GB News
The IOC said in a statement: “All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations in accordance with rules 1.4 and 3.1 of the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit.
“The PBU endeavoured to restrict amendments to minimise the impact on athletes’ preparation and guaranteeing consistency between Olympic Games.”
Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan and Imane Khelif of Algeria are competing at their second Summer Games. Both finished outside the medals at the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021.
Imane Khelif was disqualified from the boxing championship due to her “high levels of testosterone” and Lin Yu-ting was disqualified from the same competitions for “failing to meet the gender eligibility tests.”