The Complexity of Gender in Elite Sports

The recent Paris Olympics had many surprises. Among these surprises, one name stood out: Imane Khelif. She became famous when she quickly beat Angela Carini of Italy in just 46 seconds during her first round. But her journey wasn’t easy. Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lian Yu-ting were kicked out of the World Boxing Championships in New Delhi in 2023. The International Boxing Association thought they didn’t pass the gender eligibility test. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said this was a sudden and unexpected decision. The thing is, Khelif isn’t transgender or inters-x. She has differences of s-e-xual development (DSD), which is different from being transgender or inters-x. Eventually, she was allowed to compete in the Olympics. This topic of gender in sports is getting more complicated as time goes on. Sebastian Coe, former World Athletics Chief and a candidate for the IOC presidency, recently spoke up about this issue. He believes that biology should be the deciding factor in sports, not gender. He said, “I’m sorry, gender cannot trump biology. I say that because if you do not protect and promote the integrity of women’s sports, you simply do not have women’s sport. ” During his time at World Athletics, Coe made sure to protect the integrity of women’s sports. He said, “Under my watch at World Athletics, I was not going to allow that to happen. And sometimes you have to make tough decisions and those decisions don’t always meet with the approval of everybody. ” Whether you agree with him or not, Coe is known for making big decisions. The Paris Olympics also made history in other ways. 2024 marked a big change. For the first time, the Games had an equal number of male and female athletes. But this didn’t happen overnight. In 1900, Paris was the first city to let women compete in the Olympics. Since then, it’s been a long journey to get to equal representation. In 1936, women made up only 8. 4% of the athletes. Tokyo 2020 did a lot to help women’s sports. It added 18 mixed events and new sports like karate, skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing for women. It also let male and female athletes carry their nation’s flag together during the Opening Ceremony. Tokyo has made it easier for women to participate in sports. Did you know that women have been fighting for equal representation in the Olympics for over a century? It’s an ongoing battle, but the Paris 2024 Olympics achieved a record of numerical equality. So, the future of women’s sports on the Olympic scene looks bright.