Boxer Lin Yu-ting cries after winning Olympic gold amid gender row

The second of two female boxers battling for gender equality at the Paris Olympics has won gold, 24 hours after the first. Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting won the gold in convincing fashion, beating young Polish boxer Julia Szeremeta in the 57kg final. Lin won every round unanimously and was never in trouble, punching the air and embracing her coach after a fight she controlled from the start.

It confirmed the overwhelming supremacy of Lin, who has not lost a round in her four fights in Paris. The 28-year-old is a two-time world champion but has never won an Olympic medal before. She was beaten in the round of 16 at Tokyo 2020 but proved unassailable here, becoming the second Taiwanese woman to win gold this summer.

Lin was enthusiastically welcomed by many of her countrymen at Roland Garros and wept uncontrollably as the Taiwanese anthem played at the medal ceremony. She exchanged hugs with Szerameta and fellow bronze medallists Nesthy Petecio and Era Yildiz Kahraman.

“I cried because I was so touched,” Lin said. “During the fight, I saw images flashing through my mind and thought about the beginning of my career, when I started boxing. There were moments of great pain and great joy.”

Lin and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who won gold in the under-66kg category on Friday, had joined the Olympics amid controversy. Both boxers were disqualified from last year’s world championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after it said they had failed unspecified gender tests. The IBA, led by Russian businessman Umar Kremlev and funded by Russian state oil company Gazprom, had its Olympic status revoked in June 2023 due to concerns over governance and corruption.

Earlier this month, the IOC criticised the “arbitrary” testing imposed on Lin and Khelif, pointing to a lack of due process and “proper procedure” in the IBA’s treatment of the two women.

Lin Yu-ting goes on the attack against Julia Szeremeta. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Reuters

After walking past a crowd of about 100 fans cheering her on outside the field, Lin responded to a question about whether the discussion surrounding her participation, which has sparked a highly polarizing debate on social media and beyond, had seeped into her Olympics. “As an elite athlete, during competition, it’s important to isolate myself from social media and focus,” she said. “Of course, I heard some information through my coach, but I didn’t pay too much attention to it. I was invited by the IOC to participate in the Games and that’s what I focused on.”

Lin’s victory comes as Khelif’s lawyer announced that the Algerian had filed a formal complaint, claiming to have been the victim of online harassment in the conflict. Asked whether she would take similar action, Lin said: “That’s something I will discuss with my team. I will decide later on the next step.”

In the ring, Lin had no trouble defeating Szeremeta despite her opponent’s attempts to take full advantage of a springy, mobile and notoriously provocative style. Lin uses her size to give herself an advantage but moves with lightness; she glided around the mat, controlled the position and pace of the fight, picked her moments to attack and was unhindered through the first two rounds.

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Szeremeta, who had nothing to lose, fought back in the third round and hit hard, visibly bruised and bloodied by the end. In a friendly atmosphere, the “X” gestures that Karaman and another previous opponent, Svetlana Staneva, had made after their defeats to Lin were not repeated. They had been interpreted in some quarters as a reference to XX chromosomes; Szeremeta, however, took the defeat in stride and made a heart gesture to her supporters, bowing to all sides and congratulating Lin before leaving.

The second candidate was, however, asked about the political party she belongs to. Szeremeta ran for the far-right Konfederacja party in this year’s elections, and unsuccessfully won a local election in Lublin. Konfederacja’s social media activity, largely through reposts on X, has cast doubt on Lin’s eligibility to run, and on Saturday night her feed contained a number of apparent insults toward the winner. When asked if she would support these views, Szeremeta declined to comment.

Ultimately, it was Lin’s night, and a victory for those who championed her cause. Earlier in the day, Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te had expressed his support in a message on X. “She carries the strength of a nation,” he wrote. “She has faced adversity and senseless attacks from outside the ring with incredible grace and unwavering courage. We cheer her on all the way.”

The other winner of the evening was Uzbekistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov, a super heavyweight, who retained his title with a comfortable victory over Spain’s Ayoub Ghadfa Drissi El Aissaoui. His compatriot Abdumalik Khalokov won the 57kg final while China’s Li Qian won gold in the women’s 75kg.