French female boxers have been excluded from the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool after failing to meet a deadline for a genetic sex test. The French boxing federation (FFBoxe) said the test requirement conflicted with French law, which prohibits such testing without a medical prescription.
World Boxing, which issued a list of competitors with no French entrants, said it had warned all federations about the policy. FFBoxe was told on 21 July that female athletes needed to provide femininity test results during registration. The federation turned to a laboratory in Leeds, but results were delayed despite assurances of a 24-hour turnaround.
FFBoxe called the exclusion a “profound injustice,” stating that athletes were punished for bureaucratic failure and a policy communicated too late. World Boxing noted that federations were warned on 21 August that test results could take 48 hours and that tests completed after 1 September would jeopardise entry.
World Boxing introduced mandatory genetic testing for female athletes over 18 in May to ensure safety and fairness. Its president, Boris van der Vorst, reiterated this stance. As of Thursday, FFBoxe had not received test results and was considering an appeal.
French boxer Maëlys Richol expressed frustration on Instagram, saying a year of work was wasted due to poor management. The controversy has reignited debate on sex verification in sports, with Algerian boxer Imane Khelif appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against World Boxing’s testing requirement.
