Lin Yu-ting won the featherweight gold medal at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris by defeating Julia Szeremeta of Poland in a unanimous decision. Despite facing allegations that she should not be competing in the women’s division, Lin emerged victorious with all five judges scoring the fight in her favor. Standing at 5-foot-9, Lin had a noticeable height advantage over her opponent and dominated the match without being threatened. The allegations surrounding Lin’s gender eligibility stem from a decision by the International Boxing Association (IBA) to disqualify her and welterweight gold medalist Imane Khelif of Algeria at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi due to doubts about their gender eligibility raised by tests conducted in 2022 and 2023. However, the IBA has not released details of the testing, and IOC spokesperson Mark Adams has deemed the eligibility tests as “flawed” and “not legitimate”. Both Lin and Khelif have been competing in women’s events for years, including at the Tokyo Olympics, and there is no indication that they identify as transgender or intersex. Despite the controversy surrounding their gender eligibility, Lin’s gold medal win demonstrates her skill and determination in the sport.
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