Latest news with #VanderVorst
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘I question it myself': South Dakota vaccination rates fall amid mistrust and misinformation
A nurse readies an MMR vaccine at Sanford Children's Hospital in Sioux Falls. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight) Grant Vander Vorst is at the epicenter of vaccine hesitancy in South Dakota: Just 56% of incoming kindergartners in Faulk County, where he lives, were up to date on their measles, mumps and rubella vaccination during the 2023-24 school year, which was the lowest rate of any county in the state with available data. Vander Vorst is the superintendent of Faulkton Area Schools. He said some parents are skeptical about the safety of administering multiple childhood vaccinations in a short window of time, 'and justifiably so.' 'I question it myself, and a lot of others do as well,' he said. Vander Vorst said his views are influenced by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic whose statements about vaccines have been called false and misleading by medical professionals. 'I haven't looked into the research, but he obviously has,' Vander Vorst said. Faulk County is not alone. Across South Dakota, vaccine hesitancy that took hold during the COVID-19 pandemic has expanded beyond skepticism of new vaccines to doubts about long-established ones, said Erin Tobin, a nurse practitioner and Republican former state senator from Winner. Tobin said a growing number of parents are trusting web posts and social media influencers over local health care professionals. 'It used to be that I could start a discussion with a patient with the words 'the CDC recommends,'' Tobin said, referencing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 'and now I'm cautious to use that because people don't trust the CDC.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX During the 2018-19 school year, before the COVID-19 pandemic, 96% of kindergarteners in South Dakota received all their required vaccinations. That number fell to 91% during the 2023-24 school year, the most recent year of available statewide data. Public health advocates are sounding the alarm about declining vaccination rates as the United States experiences its most severe measles outbreak since 2000, with over 1,000 confirmed cases across 31 states, including 12 confirmed cases in North Dakota. South Dakota has not had a confirmed case of measles so far this year, but last July, it reported its first measles case in nine years. According to the CDC, a measles vaccination rate of 95% is needed to achieve herd immunity and prevent outbreaks, given the highly contagious nature of the virus. Ten years ago, only six South Dakota counties had MMR rates below 95%, with the lowest being 80%. Now, more than 40 counties in the state are below 95%, with 12 below 80% and five below 70%. The rates could be even lower than the numbers indicate, because kindergarten-age students being homeschooled or attending other forms of alternative instruction are not required to report their vaccination status. There were 431 alternative-instruction kindergarten students statewide last fall. The MMR vaccine is a key indicator for public health, said Dr. Amy Winter, an epidemiologist at the University of Georgia College of Public Health. When MMR vaccination rates fall, it signals broader vulnerabilities. 'Where there is measles, there could be other outbreaks, other infectious diseases, depending on the dearth of vaccination that may be happening,' Winter said. Mark Sternhagen, a retiree who formerly taught at South Dakota State University, knows those risks well. He was born soon after the polio vaccine came out in 1955. He contracted polio before his parents were able to get him vaccinated, and has used a wheelchair ever since. 'There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that if I got the vaccine, I would not have gotten polio,' he said. 'I look at these declining rates and it just makes me sick.' Sternhagen said his mother carried guilt, but he doesn't blame her. He said vaccinations in South Dakota were less accessible, and parents were less informed, but modern parents who do have access to vaccines and valid information don't have those excuses. 'You're putting your children and others' children at risk, and there is no question about that,' he said. The first laws requiring immunization appeared in the 1800s, coinciding with the development and spread of a smallpox vaccine. In 1922, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a local government's vaccination mandate as a prerequisite to attending public school, leading states to implement similar requirements. States began allowing religious exemptions in the mid-20th century following advocacy from religious minorities, like the Christian Scientists. Adherents generally rely on prayer over medical care, and often decline to vaccinate children, according to the Harvard Divinity School. South Dakota's immunization law requires children entering school or early childhood programs to be immunized against poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertussis, rubeola, rubella, mumps, tetanus, meningitis and varicella. There are two exemptions in South Dakota's law. One is a medical exemption for children with certification from a licensed physician that immunization would threaten their life or health. Those exemptions have remained steady over the past decade at 0.2% of kindergartners or less. There's also a religious exemption, requiring a written statement from a parent or guardian that the child is an adherent of a religious doctrine whose teachings are opposed to immunization. Religious exemptions are growing in South Dakota, where 5.4% of kindergarteners had them last school year, compared to 1.5% a decade ago. In raw numbers, that's a change from 181 kindergarteners to 636. Tobin, the nurse practitioner and former legislator, said the claiming of a religious exemption is probably not religiously motivated in many cases. 'I do think they're using that as this all-encompassing exemption, and so it's probably something they just don't believe in, but not necessarily something that is against the religion,' she said. One factor contributing to South Dakota's declining vaccination trend is falling rates among Hutterite people, members of a communal branch of the Anabaptist faith who have dozens of agricultural-based colonies in the state. During the 2019-20 school year, six of the approximately 50 Hutterite colony elementary schools in the state reported vaccination rates of 0%. Thirty-two of them did so during the 2023-24 school year. There are questions about the validity of the data. A state Department of Health dashboard shows some Hutterite colony schools with 0% of their kindergarten students vaccinated, but also shows some of those same schools with less than 100% of the students claiming a religious or medical exemption. South Dakota Searchlight asked the Department of Health and the Department of Education to explain the discrepancy but did not receive a full explanation from either department. Searchlight followed-up by asking the departments what the state is doing to address the discrepancies. 'If any students are identified as neither vaccinated nor exempted (medical or religious), the accreditation team identifies that as a 'finding, which requires the school district to resolve the deficit,' Department of Education spokeswoman Nancy Van Der Weide said in written statement. 'If the school takes action to correct the situation within the allotted timeframe, the district receives accreditation. If they fail to do so, the school may be placed on probation or ultimately suspended.' As of Friday, Van Der Weide had not identified which schools, if any, are currently on probation or facing suspension over vaccination exemption issues. Upland Colony Elementary near Letcher, within the Sanborn Central School District, is one such school where the data does not add up. Laura Licht is an administrative assistant with the district. She said students at the colony have filed exemptions, and the data may not be getting pulled properly by the state. Vander Vorst said his school district of 36 kindergarteners includes three Hutterite colony schools in its borders, and he said that likely contributes to the county's low vaccination rate. The numbers show that Faulkton Area School's kindergarten vaccination rate for required immunizations was 77% last year, while the rates for the three colony schools in the district ranged from zero to 50%. Josh Oltmanns, CEO and elementary principal of Hanson School District, echoed that. The vaccination rate among kindergarteners at Hanson Elementary last year was 94%. The rates at the district's colony schools were as low as 50%. 'I'd bet, if you look, a lot of these lower school districts have colonies,' Oltmanns said. 'And that's within those peoples' rights.' It's unclear why Hutterite people would be less supportive of vaccinations now than previously. South Dakota Searchlight made multiple calls to Hutterite colonies and to educators who serve Hutterite students, but most were unwilling to speak about the potential reasons for vaccine hesitancy. An academic who studies the Hutterite faith said he doesn't know why vaccination rates at colonies would be falling. At one colony, a member who declined to provide her name said hesitancy is driven by the number of vaccines now being given to children. 'They've added so many more,' she said. 'It's a risk we don't want to take.' Medical professionals say those fears are unfounded. The CDC says vaccines contain weakened or killed versions of germs that cause a disease. These elements of vaccines, and other molecules and micro-organisms that stimulate the immune system, are called 'antigens.' Dr. Allie Alvine, founder of South Dakota Families for Vaccines, said children encounter more antigen exposure during 'one play session in a sandbox' than during an entire vaccine schedule. 'And the ones we expose a child to via vaccination are proven to be good for them,' Alvine said. 'What we expose them to is targeted and saves lives.' Dr. Ashley Sands, a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases with Sanford Health, said parents are more frequently asking questions about the efficacy of vaccinations. She finds herself debunking some of Kennedy's claims, like rumored links between vaccines and autism. The claim that the MMR vaccine causes autism originated from a 1998 study by Andrew Wakefield, which was discredited due to serious methodological flaws, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and ethical violations. Multiple large-scale studies since then have found no credible evidence supporting the claim. Wakefield lost his medical license, and his paper was retracted. 'The medical community can read the research it conducts,' Sands said. 'Is it not far more likely Kennedy, who has never done medical research nor formally studied medicine, is misinterpreting or misrepresenting the data?' Sands emphasized that vaccination recommendations are built on decades of peer-reviewed and replicated research. 'A good doctor is keeping up with the medical journals pertinent to their field and adjusting patient recommendations as our shared science evolves,' Sands said. 'Meanwhile, Kennedy is using his position to push conspiracies.' Sands also hears parents romanticize 'natural immunity' over vaccination. She warns that natural infection with diseases like measles can be deadly. Plus, infants and immunocompromised people rely on those around them to be immune, blocking the disease's spread. If enough people are vaccinated, the disease can't reach those most at risk. 'A child with cancer should have the freedom to go to school without being exposed to illnesses that are easily preventable,' Sands said. Alvine said vaccine misinformation has taken hold in South Dakota politics. She cited recent failed legislation targeting vaccines, including bills promoting 'conscience exemptions' to vaccination mandates and separating blood donations based on COVID-19 vaccination status — all based on misinformation, Alvine said. 'They prey on parents' fears,' Alvine said. 'Once you instill fear, it's hard to fix that.' Republican House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach of Spearfish voted for the conscience exemptions bill. He said 'the 'trust the science' phase of COVID' is why people are more vaccine hesitant. CONTACT US 'I think wisdom is needed to make the distinction between true public health emergencies and those situations, more often, where personal bodily autonomy has to remain inviolate,' Odenbach said. Alvine said she's trying to educate people to accept vaccines, not force them against their will. 'Anytime we can save a child's life, to grow up and live, it's worth it,' she said. 'It's not, 'Most kids will get through it and be fine.' They will be miserable. A portion will get lifelong, deadly diseases stemming from measles, and some will even die.' Nearly every child in the U.S. caught measles before the vaccine became available in 1963. In 2000, health officials declared measles eliminated in the U.S. thanks to nearly universal vaccination. The South Dakota Department of Health declined an interview for this story but provided a statement noting the downward trend in childhood vaccinations is concerning. The department highlighted ongoing marketing efforts, refreshed ad campaigns, and 1,700 more total immunizations – combined among children and adults – administered in 2024 than 2023. 'We can have a positive impact on all health outcomes, including childhood vaccination rates, by addressing access to care, social drivers of health care outcomes, and public awareness campaigns,' the department said. President Donald Trump's federal spending cuts have included $1.7 million in reduced or eliminated grants to the department, including $83,500 labeled as being for immunizations and vaccines for children.
The Guardian
23-03-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
‘It's a privilege': Boris van der Vorst, the man who saved Olympic boxing
'It feels like such a sweet week and of course I'm very happy and proud,' Boris van der Vorst says as, in his role as the founder and president of World Boxing, he takes a rare break to reflect on a mighty achievement. Just over two years ago, boxing had been struck off the initial programme for the Los Angeles Games in 2028 and it was about to be banished entirely from the Olympic movement. It was then that Van der Vorst set about establishing a new regulatory body to replace the discredited International Boxing Association. His work, despite intense pressure, was vindicated when Thomas Bach, the outgoing International Olympic Committee president, announced on Monday that his executive board had recommended boxing's inclusion in the LA Olympics. The key stipulation was in place, because the IOC recognised World Boxing as the sport's new regulatory body, and on Thursday Bach's recommendation was accepted. Boxing was welcomed back into the Olympic fold. 'It's a privilege and not a right,' Van der Vorst says. 'We still need to show the IOC we are the most credible international organisation and that we can organise the competition and secure financial stability. We have the governance structure policies in place to uphold the high standards they require from us.' Van der Vorst has already stressed that World Boxing will, in a matter of 'weeks rather than months', confirm a policy to deal with the enormously divisive and emotive gender eligibility controversy – the most difficult challenge he and his colleagues now face. He will work in conjunction with a medical working party and 'the scientific experts' to decide which athletes can compete in World Boxing events where 'the priority is sporting integrity and safety'. This collegiate approach means Van der Vorst owes much to a group of federations, led by the US and GB Boxing, which provided the strategic muscle to organise a new governing body in record time. He has not been a lone saviour, and he highlights the support he has received, but Van der Vorst has been the driving force and the face of this dynamic new body. It is bizarre that the sport needed a 53-year-old Dutchman to lead the fight against the systemic corruption of amateur boxing. 'Probably not,' Van der Vorst says with a wry smile when I suggest the Netherlands, unlike Cuba or the United States, is not among the countries that spring to mind when considering the great boxing nations. Van der Vorst had been the president of the Dutch federation since 2013 and while his counterparts preferred to keep quiet rather than risk hardening the IBA's stance against their own fighters, he was unafraid to speak out. The Netherlands has had meagre success in boxing – with Nouchka Fontijn's silver and bronze medals at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics being rare examples of glory. Van der Vorst pauses when I ask if his country's place on the margins of the sport meant he could be more honest. 'I've never thought only about the interests of Dutch boxers,' he says. 'I always thought about the interests of the whole boxing world. When I'm watching a real good bout I'm happy for both fighters. They don't need to be Dutch. I take pleasure in the success of all boxers when they have trained hard.' Van der Vorst describes a tipping point in Rio in 2016. It was initially a happy Olympics as, under his watch, the Netherlands had three qualifying boxers and Fontijn reached the final of the women's middleweight division, where she lost to the American great Claressa Shields. But his enjoyment withered after he witnessed a scandalous decision where Ireland's Michael Conlan, the world No 1, dominated his bout against Russia's Vladimir Nikitin – only to be robbed by the judges. Prof Richard McLaren's devastating investigation into corruption in amateur boxing, published in 2021, confirmed that handpicked teams of referees and judges used signals at ringside, or instructed colleagues beforehand, as to who should win a particular bout. Van der Vorst just needed the evidence of his own eyes. 'I was at the Conlan fight,' he says, 'and it didn't feel good. I used to be a boxer and I really like boxing. But I like fair play as well. It's crucial that after each bout the hand of the best boxer is raised and not the hand of the most influential national federation. That's when I started to be politically engaged.' It often seemed as if only Van der Vorst was willing to stand up to Umar Kremlev, the Russian head of the IBA and a close ally of Vladimir Putin. 'It always felt surprising I was the only one who stood up,' he says. 'But, at the same time, I've felt support and inspiration from people in New Zealand, Australia, the USA and others backing me. I've never felt alone.' Van der Vorst challenged Kremlev for the presidency of the IBA in 2020 and he was blocked from subsequent attempts to run for election. He focused instead on the crisis boxing faced once it was clear the IOC would not only suspend the IBA but banish the discipline to the sporting wilderness. 'It was crucial boxing stayed part of the Olympic movement and we needed to match their values,' he says. 'The first time I stood for election [as IBA president] I was totally unknown in the boxing world but I did a hell of a campaign. I ended up second out of seven contenders so that was a pretty good achievement. But it was more important when, after the IOC announced in December 2021 that boxing was not included in the programme for LA, I and several other national federations decided to come together and discuss how we change the culture and keep boxing in the Olympics.' Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Van der Vorst felt an 'extra reason to step into the ring again'. It often seemed as if Kremlev made decisions that would please Putin, rather than for the good of boxing. 'IBA was already not in good standing with the IOC and so it was an extra opportunity for me to try and change international boxing. This was the reason why we established World Boxing.' The clock kept ticking and Van der Vorst 'felt the time-pressure very much. It was all about teamwork, setting up World Boxing, and it was an administrative high-performance job. Me and my colleagues were working day and night, seven days a week, and I think it is one of the most remarkable comeback stories in the Olympic movement. 'We officially launched in April 2023 and we had no [national federation] members. But by the end of 2023 we held our first inaugural congress in Frankfurt where I was elected as president of World Boxing with 27 founding members.' It now includes 88 national federations. 'We didn't have a free run,' he says. 'We needed to find money to organise competitions and development opportunities for athletes. The Paris Olympics were approaching and a lot of national federations focused on short-term interests. I understood, but our ultimate goal – having boxing in LA – was at risk. That's why I kept talking to all the national federations to build World Boxing and show the IOC we had enough members to be an international federation that could take care of the sport.' Apart from being a boxing administrator, Van der Vorst was a successful businessman near Utrecht. But he has abandoned his professional interests in healthcare. 'It's totally impossible to stay in business while doing this work. I've invested a lot in World Boxing and I'm fully dedicated and available. That's the only way to make it successful. But it also brings me a lot of joy and it feels like we're fulfilling a legacy for boxing. I'm very lucky I have my family behind me.' Van der Vorst smiles. 'My wife [designed] the World Boxing logo and my daughter made some [promotional] videos and my other daughter helped me with my English. They all contributed to the success of World Boxing and only with that kind of support can you survive. Otherwise it ends in divorce or world war three.' The saviour of Olympic boxing was once a keen footballer, playing for the same amateur club as Marco van Basten. Near the end of his sweetest week in boxing he tells me about 'the most spectacular Saturday of my life. Twenty-eight years ago, I won a football match in the afternoon and in the evening I won a heavyweight bout. That same night, while out celebrating my victories, I met my [future] wife for the first time. It was beautiful.' His grin widens as he recalls that 'I beat a super-heavyweight. He was 108kg and I was 26kg less. But I still won.' Van der Vorst becomes more serious when I suggest his brief boxing career provided the right training for confronting giants – as he did when taking down the Russian-run IBA. 'I'm a boxer and I'm not afraid. But I've never seen this as a competition. Our goal at World Boxing is to keep the Olympic dream alive for every boxing gym in the world. I'm so happy we achieved our objective but, now, the real work begins.'
The Independent
20-03-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
World Boxing to determine new gender rules ‘in weeks rather than months' after 2024 Olympics row
World Boxing is to announce updated gender eligibility rulings in 'two to three weeks', following a consultation on how the sport tackles an issue which threatened to derail last year's Olympic Games. The president of the sport's governing body, Boris van der Vorst, said World Boxing intended to have a resolution to an 'extremely complex issue' before the World Boxing Cup, with the event beginning on 31 March in Brazil. A row erupted at the Paris Olympics over the presence of two boxers competing in the female category, Algeria's Imane Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-Ting. Both athletes had grown up and always competed as women but were alleged to have failed gender eligibility tests prior to the Games by boxing's disgraced former governing body, the International Boxing Association (IBA). No evidence for these claims was publicly provided. Both women had competed without issue in the Tokyo Games in 2021 and went on to win gold medals in Paris despite the furore. Boxing at both Olympics came under the control of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), after the IBA was effectively exiled due to alleged failures of governance. The IOC does not have a blanket criteria for gender eligibility, allowing individual sports to decide the metrics they use. 'I'm for all the boxers,' Van der Vorst told The Guardian. 'What happened in Paris was very sad, and I felt there was no proper procedure based on the accusations from the previous international federation [the IBA]. That felt very inappropriate to me.' Van der Vorst explained that World Boxing had formed a working group taking advice from medical experts and the Independent Council for Women's Sports to determine its new guidelines, and he cautioned against the politicisation of what has become an extremely thorny issue. 'The main objective is to have a level playing field that assures safety for all participants,' he added. 'We are waiting for the policy from our experts, but the priority for me is sporting integrity and safety.' World Boxing has recently cemented its status as the sport's sole governing body after the IOC officially welcomed boxing back into the Olympic fold, with a unanimous vote granting it the right to run the competition in Los Angeles in 2028. Khelif – who won gold in the 66kg category in Paris – stated this week she is aiming to defend her title in LA, despite Donald Trump adding his voice to the dispute and falsely claiming she is transgender. 'I am not transgender,' the 25-year-old said in an ITV interview on Wednesday. 'This does not concern me and it does not intimidate me.'
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Boxing included in LA 2028 Olympics programme after IOC vote
Boxing was on Thursday formally included into the programme of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles after a long dispute and the provisional recognition of a new governing body for the sport. The Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) unanimously approved an according proposal from the IOC executive board. "We can look forward to a great Olympic boxing tournament in LA," IOC president Thomas Bach said. The IOC ran boxing itself at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 in connection with a long dispute with the International Boxing Association (IBA) over issues including judging, governance, finances and its ties with Russia. It first suspended IBA and then kicked it out of the Olympic Movement in 2023. The IOC said that boxing would only be on the 2028 programme if a new partner was found. It provisionally recognized newly-formed World Boxing last month. National federations must be members of World Boxing to be eligible to qualify for and compete in LA. Founded in 2023, World Boxing now has 88 members, Karl Stoss from the IOC programme commission said, including major countries in the sport like the United States, Britain, China and Turkey. Stoss said World Boxing represents 69% of boxers worldwide and 73% of the medal winners from Paris 2024. World Boxing president Boris van der Vorst was present for the vote, and said afterwards: "I feel very excited about this decision which acknowledges the hard effort we did as a team. "It is a significant milestone, and the real work now starts for us." Van der Vorst added that they have set up a commission to review gender eligibility criteria and that he expects a result "in the near future" in the wake of a big Paris Games controversy on the issue. Algeria's Imane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting of Taiwan won gold – a year after being disqualified from the world championships by the IBA for allegedly failing gender tests which were never made public. Following an executive order from new United States President Donald Trump to ban transgender athletes from women's sport, the IBA said that they would file criminal complaints against the IOC in the United States, France and Switzerland. The IOC has insisted that Khelif and Lin were born and identify as women and thus eligible for Paris, and that they are not transgender athletes. Khelif for her part has also threatened legal action against the IBA, if necessary. "For us it is important to have fair and safe competitions. That will be paramount," Van der Vorst said.
The Guardian
20-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
World Boxing to decide new gender eligibility rules in ‘two or three weeks'
World Boxing has reached 'an advanced stage' of its investigation into the gender eligibility row that blighted the sport at the Olympic Games last year, and expects to announce its findings in a matter of 'weeks rather than months'. Boris van der Vorst, the president of boxing's governing body that was given a green light on Monday to run the Olympic competition at Los Angeles 2028, said: 'There's no specific timeline, but I expect it within two or three weeks. We want to have it before our next competition in Brazil.' Van der Vorst said all recommendations would need approval by him and the WB board. Algeria's Imane Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting, the two gold medal-winning boxers at the centre of the controversy in Paris, have not applied for entry to the World Boxing Cup, which begins on 31 March in Foz do Iguaçu. It is not clear whether their national federations will try to enter their fighters for a World Cup event starting in Kazakhstan on 30 June. In an interview to be broadcast by ITV on Wednesday evening, Khelif stressed her renewed determination to box on and win gold in LA. Responding to Donald Trump's false claim that she was a transgender athlete, Khelif said: 'I am not transgender. This does not concern me and it does not intimidate me.' She said her aim was to win a 'second gold medal, of course – in America, Los Angeles'. The bitterness of the dispute underpins the urgency as World Boxing tries to bring clarity to a deeply emotive subject. 'It's an extremely complex issue with significant welfare concerns,' Van der Vorst said. 'We have established a working group in line with our medical committee which will develop a sex, age and weight policy. They're working with medical evidence from a wide range of experts across the world, including the Independent Council for Women's Sports. 'They're developing an updated policy that will determine the eligibility of boxers to participate in World Boxing competitions. It's important we can deliver a competitive level-playing field for men and women that assures the safety of everyone involved.' It has been a seismic week for World Boxing after the International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, announced on Monday that his executive board supported the sport's inclusion at the 2028 Olympics in LA. Until the emergence of World Boxing, which had been founded in 2023 by Van der Vorst in a desperate attempt to salvage boxing's Olympic future, the IOC had banished the sport to the sporting wilderness. After suspending the International Boxing Association, the sport's disgraced former governing body, the IOC had been in charge of the tournament in Paris. The gender eligibility argument became the most acrimonious sporting story of the year. At the 2023 world championships Lin took a swab test that, according to the IBA, contained enough male chromosomes to disqualify her from the women's event. Khelif had recorded similar results in a test conducted by the IBA. Both boxers had been classified at birth as female and had lived as girls before competing as women. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion Van der Vorst said: 'I really don't want to comment about individual boxers. But there's a lot of misunderstanding when I hear people speaking about transgender athletes. It's very offensive and misleading because there are no transgenders in boxing. Maybe there is some gender diversity, but that's something for experts and for us to define in a policy.' 'I'm for all the boxers. What happened in Paris was very sad and I felt there was no proper procedure based on the accusations from the previous international federation [the IBA]. That felt very inappropriate to me.' Van der Vorst also said that 'sometimes these cases are used for political issues and I want to stay away from it. The main objective is to have a level playing-field that assures safety for all participants. We are waiting for the policy from our experts, but the priority for me is sporting integrity and safety.'
