The two boxers, Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan, had previously been banned from the world championships after being declared male by the International Boxing Association (IBA).
The pair were disqualified from the Women's World Boxing Championships in March of last year that were held in New Delhi. At that time, a series of DNA tests were ordered amid concerns over the sex of some of those taking part.
Umar Kremlev, President of the IBA, claimed the tests had proven the athletes, including Khelif and Yu-Ting, had “XY chromosomes.” Kremlev added that they had “uncovered athletes who were trying to fool their colleagues and pretend to be women.”
Since then, the IBA has been stripped of its responsibility to enforce standards for Olympic boxing competitions, leaving the IOC in charge and opening the door to dangerous decisions such as this.
Following last year's ban, the Algerian Olympic Committee retaliated, alleging a “conspiracy” to prevent them from achieving a gold medal and citing “medical reasons” for elevated testosterone levels.
Yes the “medical reason” is because they are men.