UNLOCKED: Why did a male win gold in women's boxing?

On Friday, Algeria’s Imane Khelif won the gold medal in the 66kg women’s boxing category at the Paris 2024 Olympics. He had previously been disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after two DNA tests found he had XY chromosomes. The International Olympics Committe (IOC) was informed of this in 2023, but ignored the tests, and allowed Khelif to compete as a “woman.” It is suspected he has a DSD condition, interpreted as many to mean he is “intersex” — an outdated term that implies a “third sex.” The two male boxers suspected of having DSD conditions — Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting — were the subject of heated debate throughout the Paris Olympics, but have been defended by many as “women.”

I spoke with Linda Blade, founding member of the International Consortium on Female Sport (ICFS), co-author of UNSPORTING: How Trans activism and Science Denial are Destroying Sport, previous president of Athletics Alberta, former Canadian Champion and NCAA All American in the heptathlon, and advocate of female sport, about the situation on Friday.