Paris boxing gender row was product of Russian fake news

A gender row involving two female boxers at the Paris 2024 Olympics was the result of a Russian fake news campaign and had little to do with reality, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said on Saturday.

Bach, who is stepping down in June after 12 years in charge of the biggest job in world sports, said the IOC had needed to fight off many similar campaigns before and after the Paris Games.

The boxing competition at the Paris Games was run by the IOC after it stripped the International Boxing Association (IBA) of recognition last year over its failure to implement reforms on governance and finance.

But the IBA, run by Russian businessman Umar Kremlev with close links to the Kremlin, accused the IOC during Paris of allowing two female athletes, who had been banned by the IBA following a chromosome test a year earlier, to compete.

A bitter war of words ensued between the two organisations and hogged the headlines during the Games.

“I would not consider this [Paris Games gender row] a real crisis because all this discussion is based on a fake news campaign coming from Russia,” Bach said in an interview at the southern Greek seaside resort where his successor will be elected on Thursday.