Is There Female Boxing In The Olympics?

Yes! There is women’s boxing at the Olympics. It has been an Olympic sport since 2012.

Although women’s boxing is not as popular as men’s, the women’s sport has grown considerably. In August of 2009, it was announced that women’s boxing events would be held at the Olympics in 2012. Since then, it has been played at the 2016 games and will also be played at the 2020 games.

Weight Classes

Women’s boxing has been featured alongside men’s boxing since the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. In the 2012 and 2016 games, there were three female weight classes: flyweight (48-51 kilograms), lightweight (57-60 kg), and middleweight (69-75 kg). As of the 2020 Tokyo games, featherweight (54-57 kg) and welterweight (64-69 kg) will also be used.

Challenges

While the men’s game has had centuries of popularity to grow upon, women’s boxing has historically been outlawed by many boxing associations and even some countries entirely. It wasn’t until 1997 that the first sanctioned female boxing match was allowed to take place in Britain, yet it was played in the Olympics just 15 years later. Many traditionalists refuted the idea that women should box, and female Olympic boxers were originally planned to wear skirts.

Headgear

One of the chief differences between male and female boxing events at the Olympics is the use of headgear. Headgear was introduced to Olympic boxing in 1984, but has recently been removed for male competitors. When women’s boxing was finally included in the Olympics, the headgear rule was firmly in place. Since then, studies have shown headgear can actually increase the likelihood of concussions, but since there is not enough data in the women’s game, females will continue to sport boxing headgear in the Olympics for the foreseeable future.