Skip to content
TrackPodcasts
newsAug 6, 202430:49pending

Olympic boxing and sex testing’s fraught history

Front Burner

About this episode

Last week’s boxing match between Italy’s Angela Carini and Algeria’s Imane Khelif lasted just 46 seconds. But it has ignited a firestorm online, and led to a slew of misinformation about Khelif’s sex and gender — leading commentators from Elon Musk to Donald Trump to Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling to allege that the International Olympic Committee is allowing a man to compete in women’s boxing.


Those claims are not true. Imane Khelif is a cisgender woman, something both she and the IOC have been extremely clear about. 


But these debates around sex and who qualifies for women’s sports are nothing new. In fact, they’ve been going on for nearly a century. Today, we speak to Rose Eveleth, host of the new podcast Tested, from CBC and NPR, about the controversial 100-year history of sex testing in women’s sports, and the many complex questions this story raises.


For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Get every episode summarized

Each time Front Burner publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.

Email me new episodes

Free for 3 shows. No card needed.

Hosts & guests

No transcript yet

This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.

Olympic boxing and sex testing’s fraught history

Front Burner

0:00
30:49

More episodes

More from Front Burner

View all episodes →