Will Women Boxers Compete In 2012?

A year after submitting a proposal to allow female boxers to lace up their mitts at the 2012 Olympics, this week the Amateur Boxing Association of England will find out if their application was successful. Encouraging sounds are emanating from the direction of IOC head honcho Jacques Rogge, and the ABA's development manager Rebecca Gibson said it would take a "really good reason" not to allow women the honour of legally bashing each others' heads in. And who'd begrudge them the opportunity? Matthew Syed, the Times' sports reporter, is all for it, despite confessing to a "nagging unease" upon watching a female bout recently. But as boxing is the only remaining Olympic sport to exclude women, sanctioning it would be a big step toward equality and would help redress, as Syed puts it, the "highly restrictive notion of femininity" that society still as a rule holds. A decision is due tomorrow.