Olympic champion Lin Yu-ting cleared to compete following gender eligibility dispute
Olympic featherweight champion Lin Yu-ting has been cleared to box by World Boxing after passing the body’s sex test.
Lin, 30, who represents Chinese Taipei, won gold at the 2024 Paris Games, beating Poland’s Julia Szeremeta by unanimous decision before becoming embroiled in a gender row.
Both Lin and Algeria’s Imane Khelif, who became a welterweight Olympic champion in Paris, were disqualified from the World Championships in 2023 after failing gender eligibility tests by the IBA, which at the time said that both competitors had “failed to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in women's competition”.
However, Lin and Khelif were allowed to compete at the 2024 Games due to the IBA being stripped of its power over Olympic competitions by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
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After the 2024 Olympics, World Boxing was given governance of the sport at amateur level and introduced its own mandatory testing.
In May 2025, World Boxing said that “all athletes over the age of 18 must pass a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) genetic test to determine their sex at birth and their eligibility to compete” in competitions sanctioned by the body.
On Saturday (21 March), World Boxing confirmed that Lin would now be eligible to compete in its events, having previously missed several competitions.
This comes after the Chinese Taipei Boxing Association (CTBA) appealed the process put forward by World Boxing.
The CTBA submitted evidence in the form of medical documents during the appeal process before Lin was cleared to compete.
In a statement, World Boxing said: “The World Boxing Medical Committee considered and evaluated the medical documentation presented and determined that the boxer was deemed to be female and eligible to compete in the female category.”
Secretary General of World Boxing Tom Dielen added: “We recognise that this has been a difficult period for the boxer and the CTBA, and appreciate the way they have approached the appeal process and their acknowledgement of World Boxing's requirement to ensure that its eligibility policy, which is designed to deliver safety and sporting integrity, has been correctly implemented and followed.”
Meanwhile, the CTBA also issued a lengthy statement describing the decision as a “relief”.
“This is a tremendous relief for Lin Yu-ting,” read the statement.
“We are pleased that World Boxing's independent medical experts thoroughly reviewed all evidence and confirmed that she has been female since birth, meeting the requirements with no competitive advantage, and ensuring her rightful place in the women's category.
“We recognise World Boxing's responsibility to uphold safety and fairness in competition, and we appreciate the professional and rigorous manner in which this matter was handled.”
Lin has registered an interest in competing at the Asian Boxing Championships, which commence on 29 March.
Luke Davies