IOC Follows AIBA, Discontinues Boxing Headgear at Olympics

(ATR) The IOC says boxing headgear will not be used in the men’s competition at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Guardar

(ATR) The International Olympic Committee says boxing headgear will not be used in the men’s competition at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

The IOC executive board chose to follow the recommendations of the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) medical commission that says the use of headgear in boxing competitions leads to more concussions and facial contusions due to the boxer’s false sense of security using the protective gear.

AIBA first removed headgear from the 2013 men’s world championships and continued the practice at the 2015 championships in Qatar. AIBA also implemented its Heads Up program at the competition last October that teaches boxers to keep their heads up at all times and not lean-in with the head to throw punches. The two initiatives resulted in zero concussions at the 2015 championships.

The Rio Olympics will be the first time headgear is not used in boxing since the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games.

"We are profoundly pleased that there will be no headguard for male boxers in Rio," AIBA president C.K. Wu said in a statement. "Since our very first conversations with athletes and medical staff on the issue we have been investigating the possibility of removing headguards and both our statistical research, and the feedback from boxers and coaches, shows us that this is the best outcome for our sport,"

World champion boxer Michael Conlan tells Around the Rings he is also pleased with the decision.

@AIBA_Boxing hasn't used headgear since late 2013 and I love it! Thankful it is still off! #Rio2016 https://t.co/Qn8IdzDH1g

— Michael Conlan (@mickconlan11) March 2, 2016AIBA spokesperson Nicolas Jomard says Conlan's response is typical for the majority of men's boxers.

Jomard also tells ATR that women will still use headgear in Rio because more medical research is needed to determine whether the medical benefits are the same for women's boxing as they are for men's.

"Due to a lighter competition calendar, more medical research specific to Women needs to be carried out to ensure complete safety like in Men’s," he says. "Extensive research will be carried out in Kazakhstan in May for Women’s World Championships and in upcoming women's events. Once this data is gathered, we are confident a similar decision for women can be made in the future."

AIBA tells ATR that using headgear at the women's world championships in May will allow the federation "to establish a benchmark with headguards for medical studies moving forward".

Written by Kevin Nutley

Forgeneral comments or questions, click here.

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about theOlympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribersonly.

Guardar

Últimas Noticias

Utah’s Olympic venues an integral part of the equation as Salt Lake City seeks a Winter Games encore

Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation chief of sport development Luke Bodensteiner says there is a “real urgency to make this happen in 2030”. He discusses the mission of the non-profit organization, the legacy from the 2002 Winter Games and future ambitions.
Utah’s Olympic venues an integral part of the equation as Salt Lake City seeks a Winter Games encore

IOC president tells Olympic Movement “we will again have safe and secure Olympic Games” in Beijing

Thomas Bach, in an open letter on Friday, also thanked stakeholders for their “unprecedented” efforts to make Tokyo 2020 a success despite the pandemic.
IOC president tells Olympic Movement “we will again have safe and secure Olympic Games” in Beijing

Boxing’s place in the Olympics remains in peril as IOC still unhappy with the state of AIBA’s reform efforts

The IOC says issues concerning governance, finance, and refereeing and judging must be sorted out to its satisfaction. AIBA says it’s confident that will happen and the federation will be reinstated.
Boxing’s place in the Olympics remains in peril as IOC still unhappy with the state of AIBA’s reform efforts

IOC president details Olympic community efforts to get Afghans out of danger after Taliban return to power

Thomas Bach says the Afghanistan NOC remains under IOC recognition, noting that the current leadership was democratically elected in 2019. But he says the IOC will be monitoring what happens in the future. The story had been revealed on August 31 in an article by Miguel Hernandez in Around the Rings
IOC president details Olympic community efforts to get Afghans out of danger after Taliban return to power

North Korea suspended by IOC for failing to participate in Tokyo though its athletes could still take part in Beijing 2022

Playbooks for Beijing 2022 will ”most likely” be released in October, according to IOC President Thomas Bach.
North Korea suspended by IOC for failing to participate in Tokyo though its athletes could still take part in Beijing 2022