A gender row involving two female boxers at the Paris 2024 Olympics was the result of a Russian fake news campaign and had little to do with reality, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said on Saturday.
Bach, who is stepping down in June after 12 years in charge of the biggest job in world sports, said the IOC had needed to fight off many similar campaigns before and after the Paris Games.
The boxing competition at the Paris Games was run by the IOC after it stripped the International Boxing Association (IBA) of recognition last year over its failure to implement reforms on governance and finance.
But the IBA, run by Russian businessman Umar Kremlev with close links to the Kremlin, accused the IOC during Paris of allowing two female athletes, who had been banned by the IBA following a chromosome test a year earlier, to compete.
Who said you have to believe one side or the other? Who would believe a single word from a politician? You’d have to be really naive to assume they’d ever be honest. There’s no sarcasm or hubris in that. They’ll lie faster than they can think.