PARIS—Lin Yu-ting, one of two boxers at the heart of a gender dispute at the Paris Games, made light work of Polish opponent Julia Szeremeta to claim the women’s featherweight title on Saturday. Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines and Turkey’s Esra Yildiz were awarded bronze.
Lin and Algeria’s Imane Khelif, who won gold in the welterweight category on Friday, have been in the spotlight over a gender dispute that has made headlines and been the subject of much discussion on social media platforms, triggering a legal complaint from the Algerian.
The 28-year-old Lin became Taiwan’s first gold medalist in boxing. The island has previously won three bronze medals in the sport—two of them at the Paris Olympics.
“I find it truly incredible,” Lin told reporters. “I want to thank everyone who supported and believed in me; it’s what has kept me going until now. I’ve also written history for Taiwan to let the world know about it.
“Every match is challenging. Even though it might look like a 5–0 win, each match is a big test of whether my training foundation is solid.” Lin said at a press conference after the bout.
Last year, Lin and Khelif were disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) from the 2023 World Championships in New Delhi. The association held a press conference during the Paris Games to state that a sex chromosome test had ruled them ineligible.
The two boxers are competing at the Olympics after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped the IBA of its status as the sport’s governing body in 2023 and took control the boxing competition in Paris.
The IOC has rejected the results of the IBA-ordered tests as arbitrary and illegitimate, saying there was no reason to conduct them.
At these games, the IOC is using boxing eligibility rules that were applied at the 2016 and 2021 Olympics, which do not include gender testing.