This past summer in Paris, Algerian Imane Khelif took home the women’s Olympic Gold medal in boxing. Many had protested Khelif being able to participate, as her gender had come under the spotlight. In a preliminary round, she had knocked out Italian Angela Carini in just 46 seconds with a right hook.
Khelif had already been banned from the 2023 IBA World Championships in New Delhi after failing testosterone tests. Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who also took home Gold in the Olympic featherweight division, was also disqualified. But the IOC, which had suspended the Russia-led IBA in 2023 over ethics and corruption concerns, called the tests invalid.
Now, a leaked fragment of a medical report, first reported by the German Bild outlet, states that Khelif is indeed a “biological male.” Originally written in 2023 by French and Algerian endocrinology experts at the Kremlin-Bicètre Hospital in Paris and the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine Hospital in Algiers, it says Khelif suffers from a sexual development disorder found only in biological males.
The test Khelif underwent allegedly clearly showed that he had no uterus, but had “internal testicles” and a “micropenis” resembling an enlarged clitoris. He also had an XY karyotype and testosterone levels typical of men.
After taking home the Gold in Paris, Khelif lawyered up, declaring that those who had publicly questioned her gender would be held accountable. His attorney Nabil Boudi said they would fight for “justice, dignity and honor.”
IBA President Umar Kremlev has now demanded an apology from the IOC and its president, Thomas Bach:
“Tests have again confirmed that Imane Khelif is indeed a man. Today, as the President of the International Boxing Association, which upholds gender equality and protects both women’s and men’s boxing, I demand that Thomas Bach and his team both verbally and in writing, apologize to the global boxing community.”
Other elite female athletes have also hit back. Tennis legend Martina Navratilova wrote on X, “Imane might have been raised as a woman but Imane is a biological male and should not have been allowed to box at the Olympics.” Ironically, Navratilova is a liberal and massive anti-Trumper.
U.K. swimmer and Olympic medalist Sharon Davies MBE called out the IOC for ignoring test results for two males who were then “allowed to cheat their way to gold medals.” In another post on X she stated: “I will NOT stand by & watch another generation of female athletes robbed.. whilst the IOC are negligent in their duty of care re safety & fairness.”
