Lin Yu-ting, one of two female boxers at the centre of a gender dispute at the Paris Olympics, said staying away from social media and focusing on her sport helped her cope with nearly two weeks of international headlines about her eligibility to compete in the Games.
Lin, who defeated her Polish opponent Julia Szeremeta to win gold in the women’s featherweight division on Saturday, and Algeria’s Imane Khelif both found themselves caught in a storm that dominated headlines and was the subject of heated debate on social media platforms.
The two boxers were disqualified from the 2023 World Championship by the International Boxing Association (IBA) because a sex chromosome test declared both of them ineligible to participate.
They competed in Paris after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped the IBA of its status as the sport’s governing body in 2023 and took control of the organization of boxing itself.
The IOC used the boxing eligibility rules that applied at the 2016 and 2021 Olympic Games, which did not require a gender test.
“As a top athlete, it’s important to shut myself off from social media and concentrate during the competition. That’s extremely important,” Lin told reporters after the victory. “Of course, I learned some of the information from my coach, but I didn’t pay too much attention to it. I was invited by the IOC to participate in the Games, so that’s what I focused on.”
“As for the other news, I relied on my coach to answer the questions. I just focused on who my opponent would be, I focused on training and being able to do my best when I fight.”
On Saturday, Khelif’s lawyer Nabil Boudi said the Algerian boxer had filed a formal complaint of online harassment.
When asked if she would take similar action, Lin said: “This is something I will discuss with my team. What the next step will be, we will decide later.”
Lin, a two-time world champion, was overwhelmed by his emotions after the fight and stood on the podium and cried.
“During the fight, I saw images flashing through my mind and thought about the beginning of my career, when I started boxing,” said the 28-year-old. “All the difficult training sessions, the times I was injured, the opponents I fought against.”
“There were times of great pain and times of great joy. I cried because I was so moved. I represented Taiwan, I won the gold medal. I want to thank all the people in Taiwan who supported me from the beginning to the end.”
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