«I’m fully aware that these two athletes are cisgender woman.» Via instagram, Filipino male boxer Hergie Bacyadan dimissed attacks against his co-boxers Imane Khelif y Lin Yu Ting. 

Bacyadan (Quezon City, 1994) is totally clear: “They are unquestionably woman, fully qualified and deserving on their place in the competition,» he said. Previously, in a conversation with Mexicana de Arte, the boxer stated that «hormonal imbalances are common on most women, I don’t see any reason to disqualify those with imbalances unless they shot exta hormones to make changes on their body build.»

«The criticism they are. receiving on social media is entirely unfounded and unjust. I understand the pressures and judgments that come with the territory, but this level of unfounded scrutiny is unfair to them.»

—Hergie Bacyadan about Imane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting

«Regarding my own eligibility, I want to emphasize that I have adhered to all Olympic requirements […] my qualifications as a female boxer remain intact,» he said. According to his own comments to this newsroom, he’s not taking any hormonal substitution therapy, which allows him to compete in the female category.

«Unfair advantage can only be considered if the transman have undergone HRT,» he said. About his own case, he stated previously on Instagram: «Will never take ‘T’ but I still considering myself as a Transman because my heart says so.»

Bacyadan’s Olympic way

Hergie Bacyadan is the Vovinam World Champion. Vovinam is a Vietnamese martial art that incorporates elements of others martial art. According to the Philippine News Agency, he first made the Philippine wushu (also known as kung fu) team in 2016.

His victory at the Vovinam World Championship Ho Chi Min on November 2023 was controversial: the Russian team protested, arguing about his gender expression after he won against Mariana Abadeenko. “I strongly condemn their accusation about me being a ‘MAN’ when I’m actually born FEMALE,” Bacyadan posted. “I maybe born FEMALE but my sexual orientation is I’m attracted to women which I believe shouldn’t discriminate my qualification to be an athlete,» he stated.

His team also responded: «she never took any kind of body enhancement substance. She born that way,» they stated, referring to the supposed «increased masculinity» claimed by the Russian team.

Paris 2024 was Bacyadan’s Olympic debut on August 31st. He faced Li Qian at Arena North Paris, where the Chinese athlete won unanimously.

He qualified for the Olympics after defeating the Venezuelan boxer Maryelis Yriza. •