Lin Yu-ting has flipped her 2024 Paris Olympics experience around with a shiny gold medal.
The boxer from Taiwan, who was at the center of a gender controversy, won the women’s 57kg gold medal bout against 20-year-old Julia Szeremeta of Poland on Saturday at Roland Garros on Saturday in a 5-0 victory.
It was a big improvement from Tokyo, where Yu-ting exited in just the first round in 2021.
She bent down to kiss the mat after her win.
Yu-ting’s length and four-inch height advantage proved to be a challenge for Szeremeta, who did well dodging punches but failed to produce her own offense to earn points.
The young boxer was unable to make any game-changing adjustment against Yu-ting, who went on to another dominant win.
“I feel incredible,” Yu-ting told reporters. “I want to thank everyone who has supported me, and thanks to my team and everyone in Taiwan. They gave me the power.”
“Every fight is not easy,” she added. “Winning 5-0 might seem easy, but behind that is a lot of practice and hard work.”
The victory gives Yu-ting, 28, something to smile about after she has endured an intense gender identity controversy throughout the Paris Games alongside Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who also won gold in the women’s 66kg final on Friday.
In both Yu-ting’s semifinal and quarterfinal bouts, her opponents flashed two X’s with their respective index fingers, which seemingly referred to the symbols of female chromosomes, since her sex has been questioned during the Olympics.
The gesture was performed by Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkey and Svetlana Kamenova Staneva of Bulgaria in the semifinal and quarterfinal, respectively.
The gender of both Yu-ting and Khelif has been put under a microscope upon people learning of the pair’s disqualification from the 2023 World Championships for failing gender identity tests.
On Monday, IBA secretary general Chris Roberts said that they would not reveal those test results, but suggested “you can read between the lines what it means.”
However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has not questioned the athletes and has rather defended them.
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“The Algerian boxer was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, and has a female passport,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said of Khelif.
The IOC holds different eligibility tests and has banned the IBA from Olympics.
Yu-ting has remained quiet about the controversy throughout the games and has continuously thanked those who have supported her in Paris.
“I thank everyone in Taiwan for supporting me, even late at night,” she said after the semifinal on Wednesday. “Thank you to all the supporters who have supported and encouraged me along the way. I will give my utmost effort to repay them in the final.”
