First ever trans athlete at Olympic games loses historic boxing match in Paris

Hergie Bacyadan lost the bout to Li Qian but was still grateful to be able to take part

The first publicly out transgender man to compete in any Olympic Games lost his boxing match at Paris 2024, but still made history by taking part.

Hergie Bacyadan, from the Philippines, stepped in to the ring to take on China’s Li Qian in the women’s 75kg bout on Wednesday (31 July).

Bacyadan identifies as a transgender male, but has not started hormone replacement therapy and is competing in the women’s events at Paris 2024.

Bacyadan lost the bout to China’s Li Qian. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

The three-round fight saw Bacyadan attempt to defeat Qian, who has previously secured medals at the Olympics with a bronze in Rio and silver in Tokyo.

The fight ultimately went to Qian with a clean sweep of all three rounds, advancing her into the quarter finals for the event.

Following the bout, Bacyadan took to Instagram to say it was ‘sad’ that he’d lost the event, but that he was ‘still very thankful’ that he got to the Olympics.

In his post, he continued (translated): “Only experienced to play here, it’s a big deal to me […]

“Thank you very much to all those who supported me to get here […] Thank you to the fans & supporters who never get tired of supporting me since I was just starting, until now that I reached the Olympics.”

“Above all, I want to thank God who is the reason for it all. He rebuilt my dreams and fixed all my mistakes in life,” Bacyadan continued.

Bacyadan has not started hormone replacement. (Instagram/@hergiebacyadan)

“To the whole Philippines, sorry to disappoint you. I promise that I will fight again for our country and I will work harder in the future.”

Bacyadan’s appearance at the Olympics came after the International Olympic Committee released a new framework for transgender and intersex athletes which it said was ‘grounded on the respect for internationally recognised human rights’.

The IOC announced it would no longer require athletes to undergo hormone level modifications to compete, adding: “This Framework recognises both the need to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their gender identity or sex variations, can practise sport in a safe, harassment-free environment that recognises and respects their needs and identities.”

Before his appearance at Paris 2024, Bacyadan shared a video in which he said he would ‘never take ‘T’ and will never be on ‘T’, presumably referring to testosterone.

However, he continued: “I still consider myself as a Transman because my heart says so.”

Bacyadan later said he did ‘everything’ he could to win the fight, but simply lacked the ‘experience in boxing’ needed to defeat his medal-holding opponent.