“Unprecedented absurd controversy” Champion boxer, “Are you male?” → “The worst experience of my life,” disqualified… What on earth happened?

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Could there be a more baffling disqualification? An unprecedented incident occurred in which an 18-year-old English boxing prospect was stripped of his eligibility to compete at the World Championships because he could not prove he is biologically male, due to a bizarre administrative error by his national boxing federation.

The UK’s Daily Mail reported on the 15th (Korean time), “Teenage English boxer George Francis (18) lost his chance to compete at the World Championships after officials made the absurd mistake of failing to conduct the gender verification test required to prove he is male. As a result, he revealed that his heart was shattered.”

According to the report, Francis had been scheduled to compete as an English representative at the Under-19 (U-19) World Boxing Championships held in Budva, Montenegro, last month. However, he received notice of his withdrawal after it emerged one day before the tournament’s opening that the England Boxing Association had made an administrative error by failing to conduct the mandatory gender verification test in advance.

In an interview with the UK’s BBC, Francis said, “Officials called me into a room and basically told me they could not determine whether I was male or female, so I could not compete,” adding, “Their explanation was that I had not submitted my blood sample on time. All other athletes had submitted their blood samples, but I alone had forgotten, and for some reason, my name was missing from the system.”

He continued, “It was the worst news I have ever received in my life. Honestly, I do not want this to happen to anyone,” revealing his devastated state of mind by saying, “I completely fell apart. Officials spoke to me, but it did not register, and I was in a huge shock. I could barely speak, felt no emotion at all, and felt as if there were a huge hole in my chest.”

According to the Daily Mail, this incident occurred due to the genetic gender verification test regulations mandated by the international governing body World Boxing. Following the gold medal wins of Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, who sparked gender controversy at the 2024 Paris Olympics, World Boxing mandated gender testing for female athletes aged 18 and older last year on grounds of safety and fairness, and expanded the scope to male athletes in early this year.

Francis turned 18 just four days before his departure for the World Championships, bringing him within the mandatory testing category. Under World Boxing rules, all athletes must undergo a genetic test once in their lifetime to determine the presence of a Y chromosome, and national federations are responsible for verifying an athlete’s gender when applying for tournament participation.

Francis, a prospect who has won the British championship multiple times, is reportedly considering turning professional and leaving the amateur circuit due to this administrative disaster.

As the situation escalated, the England Boxing Association contacted Francis’s father to apologize for the administrative negligence. In an official statement, the association said, “We maintained open communication with George and his family throughout, but ultimately failed to resolve the issue,” explaining, “George remains a valued member of the England team, serving in roles such as mentor. We will strengthen our procedures to prevent recurrence, taking this experience as a lesson.”

This is not the first case of an athlete being unable to compete due to missing World Boxing’s gender testing deadline. According to the media, at last year’s World Championships held in Liverpool, 12 boxers from five countries were suspended for failing to complete their gender tests within the deadline.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original