Hergie Bacyadan: Female Paris Olympics boxer who identifies as a man opens up about fighters who fail gender tests

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Hergie Bacyadan identifies as a man. He fought against women at the Paris Olympics without any outrage or fanfare - and now he has opened up about the row involving gender testing for boxers at the Games.

Algerian fighter Imane Khelif has dominated headlines after punching her way to victory over Italian Angela Carini in just 46 seconds despite failing a gender test last year. 

Now the spotlight will also shift to Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting, who is looking to make the featherweight medal rounds and is on a collision course with Australian Tina Rahimi.

Both Khelif and Lin were judged last year to have failed gender eligibility tests and were banned from fighting in the world championships. 

The president of the International Boxing Association (IBA) said a test proved Khelif, 25, has male XY chromosomes. She is not transgender.

Both fighters are female in their passports, and both have been allowed to compete at the Paris Olympics in spite of those bans.

Their admission into the Paris Games is the result of a schism between the International Olympic Committee and the IBA.

The IOC stripped the organisation of the right to run Olympic competitions and took over governance of the sport at the Paris Games.

Hergie Bacyadan identifies as a transgender man, and was permitted to compete against women at the Paris Olympics

Bacyadan (right) was defeated by Tokyo Olympics silver medal winner Qian Li of China this week in Paris (pictured)

Lin is not transgender and Khelif has reportedly said she is not intersex, but their admission has created a hotbed of social media debate over whether they should be allowed to compete against biological women.

Hergie Bacyadan is, by his own admission, the only transgender boxer competing at the Paris Olympics. 

The Philippines fighter identifies as a trans man and was permitted to compete in Paris by the IOC, losing to defending Asian Games champion and Tokyo silver medalist Li Quan of China - a biological woman - in his opening bout.

'It's sad to think of losing, but I'm still very thankful that I got to the Olympics,' he wrote on Instagram at the time.

'It's a big deal to me.'

That occasion came and went without the attention Khelif and Yu-ting have attracted.

Bacyadan said of Khelif and Li Quan: 'I am fully aware that these two athletes are cisgender women.

'They are unquestionably women, fully deserving of their place in the competition. 

Algerian fighter Imane Khelif was born a woman but was banned from the 2023 world championships after reportedly taking a test that shows she has the male XY chromosome

Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting also has the XY chromosome and was also banned from the competition by the International Boxing Association in 2023

'The criticism they are receiving on social media is entirely unfounded and unjust ... this level of unfounded scrutiny is unfair to them.' 

While Bacyadan identifies as a man, he has never formally transitioned and has not undergone hormone therapy. 

'Will never take 'T' [testosterone] and will never be on 'T' but I still consider myself as a Transman because my heart says so,' he posted on Instagram.

Bacyadan's coaching staff still refer to him as 'she' and 'her' and assert that the fighter is 100 per cent biologically female. 

A Filipino translator said: 'She is competing in the women's division but in her heart and mind, when she is outside the boxing ring, is like a man.

'Her tests are all Y so she doesn't know about other competitors.'

Bacyadan identifies as a man but has not undergone hormone therapy and has not taken testosterone, which would jeopardise his boxing career

Bacyadan added on social media: 'I am trans at heart, but I did not take any hormones or steroids to look like a man. If I compete in the women's division, I don't think there's an issue.'

He has also vowed to fight for his nation again.  

'To the whole Philippines, sorry to disappoint you. I promise that I will fight again for our country and I will work harder in the future.'

• This story was amended to reflect the fact that Bacyadan believes the two boxers in question have every right to compete in Paris.