(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
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