Is Lin Yu-Ting a man?

LIN Yu-Ting has been cleared to compete in the women’s boxing at the Paris Olympics, despite having been disqualified from last year’s World Championships for failing to meet gender eligibility criteria.

Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting will fight Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova at 2:30pm on Friday, August 2.

AFP

Is Lin Yu-Ting a man?

Lin Yu-Ting is a Taiwanese boxer who was born on December 13, 1995, in New Taipei City.

She is not transgender, and identifies as female on her passport.

In March 2023, Lin, 28, was one of two boxers disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) from the World Champion­ships for failing gender eligibility tests.

IBA officials found tests showed Lin had ‘XY chromosomes’ — which indicates a person is biologically male.

Rare ‘intersex’ medical conditions, medically known as differences in sexual development (DSDs), can also mean outwardly female individuals can have ‘male’ chromosomes, or vice versa.

The Russia-led International Boxing Association organised the World Champion­ships but is no longer recognised by the IOC, meaning Lin has been given the green light to make her second appearance at the Olympics.

At the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, Lin lost in the featherweight round of 16 against Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that Lin complied with all rules required to compete in the 2024 Olympics.

The statement said: “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.

“The IOC will not discriminate against an athlete who has qualified through their IF, on the basis of their gender identity and/or sex characteristics.”

Lin will take on Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan in the Women’s 57kg category in the round of 16 at Paris 2024 .

Taiwan’s presidential office and former president expressed support for the boxer.

“Let’s cheer for Lin Yu-ting together,” wrote Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s first female president, who ran the island between 2016 and 2024, on her official Facebook page, adding that Lin was seeking victory for herself and honour for Taiwan.

Pan Men-an, the Secretary-General for Taiwan’s Presidential office, said on Facebook he supported Lin and that it was wrong for her to be “subjected to humiliation, insults and verbal bullying just because of your appearance and a controversial verdict in the past.”

Olympics gender controversy

THE International Olympic Committee (IOC) stirred up a huge controversy by clearing two women to box who had previously failed a gender test.

Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting were disqualified at the Women’s World Championships in New Delhi, India, in March 2023.

Lin Yu-ting was stripped of a bronze medal after failing a gender eligibility test.

Khelif was disqualified in New Delhi for failing a testosterone level test.

Officials found tests showed they had ‘XY chromosomes’ — which indicates a person is biologically male.

Rare ‘intersex’ medical conditions, medically known as differences in sexual development (DSDs), can also mean outwardly female individuals can have ‘male’ chromosomes, or vice versa.

The Russia-led International Boxing Association organised that event but is no longer recognised by the IOC.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams said: “These athletes have competed many times before for many years, they haven’t just suddenly arrived – they competed in Tokyo.

“The federation needs to make the rules to make sure that there is fairness but at the same time there is the ability for everyone to take part that wants to. That is a difficult balance.

“In the end the experts for each sport are the people who work in that. If there is a big advantage that clearly is not acceptable, but that needs to be a decision made at that level.”

Both Khelif and Lin competed at the delayed Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. Lin is a two-time winner at the Asian Women Amateur Boxing Championships.

The IOC said all boxers in Paris “comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations”.

The controversy follows the famous case of Caster Semenya.

South African middle-distance runner Semenya has a condition which means her body naturally produces higher levels of testosterone than normal for women.

She won gold in the 800m at London 2012 and Rio in 2016 but was unable to compete at Tokyo in 2021 after World Athletics brought in new rules independently of the IOC at the time.