Boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan has won Olympic gold in the women's featherweight division, following Imane Khelif's lead with a glittering response to the intense scrutiny faced by both fighters over misconceptions about their womanhood.
Lin beat Julia Szeremeta of Poland 5-0 in the final at Roland Garros on Saturday night, capping her four-fight unbeaten run through Paris with Taiwan's first Olympic boxing medal.
On Friday, Khelif won Algeria's first women's boxing medal with a decisive victory in her own final, beating Yang Liu of China.
Both fighters persevered through an avalanche of criticism and uninformed speculation about their sex during the Paris tournament to deliver the best performances of their boxing careers.
Khelif has filed a legal complaint against the online pile-on, and after her victory Lin said she considering the same.
World leaders, celebrities and millions of online critics have either questioned both boxers' eligibility to be in women's competitions or claimed they were men.
Rather than revenge or vindication, the 28-year-old's overriding emotion after her fourth-straight unanimous points victory was joy.
“I have had several years of struggle and heartbreak but my dreams have finally come true," Lin said.
“During the fight I saw images flashing and I thought about the beginning of my career when I started boxing.
"Times I got injured and competitors I fought against, all these images flashed in my head ... times of great pain, times of great joy.
"I cried (on the podium) because I represented my country and I got the gold medal ... I’m so happy. I have rewritten boxing history for my country.”
Like Khelif, Lin enjoyed huge support from her home nation of Taiwan.
Both fighters were disqualified last year from the world championships organised by the International Boxing Association (IBA), a Russian-dominated governing body banished from the Olympics.
The IBA said they failed an eligibility test but has struggled to defend its claims since they resurfaced at the Olympics, occasionally giving contradictory information or saying they were asked not to give details by the boxers' national federations.
That didn't stop the criticism and speculation from proliferating online.
Lin hadn’t been as dominant or as dynamic in Paris as Khelif, who wore most of the cricitism as the Taiwanese fighter eschewed media.
"As a elite athlete during the competition it's important to shut myself off from social media and to focus," she said.
"I was invited by the IOC to compete in the Games. I focused on the Games."
That focus allowed Lin to steadily roll toward the final as the top seed in the women’s 57kg division.
The 1.75m Lin took the ring on Saturday to loud cheers and dozens of Olympic-style Chinese Taipei flags waving in the stands.
With quick hands, Lin dominated the first two rounds with a wealth of clear punches landed, cruising to victory by dodging a few of Szeremeta's too-slow efforts in the final minute.
