Thomas Bach criticises ‘fake news campaign from Russia’Two boxers competed in Paris under cloud of controversyA gender row involving two female boxers at the Paris 2024 Olympics was the result of a Russian fake news campaign and had little to do with reality, the International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, said on Saturday. Bach, who is stepping down in June after 12 years in the biggest job in world sports, said the IOC had needed to fight off many similar campaigns before and after the Paris Games. The boxing competition in the Paris was run by the IOC after it stripped the International Boxing Association (IBA) of recognition last year over its failure to implement reforms on governance and finance. But the IBA, run by the Russian businessman Umar Kremlev with close links to the Kremlin, accused the IOC during the Games of allowing two female athletes, who had been banned by the IBA following a chromosome test a year earlier, to compete. A bitter war of words ensued b...
IOC President Thomas Bach attributed a gender row at the Paris 2024 Olympics involving two boxers to a Russian fake news campaign. The IOC had stripped the IBA of recognition and allowed the boxers to compete, despite prior IBA bans based on chromosome tests. Bach stated such campaigns are common from Russia and that the issue was manufactured by the IBA, as the boxers had previously competed without issue. He also expressed confidence in the preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and Donald Trump's support.
