The controversy surrounding Olympic gold medalist boxer Imane Khelif has escalated as tennis legend Martina Navratilova has voiced strong objections, based on reports alleging Khelif’s gender as “biologically male.”
This revelation, first brought to light in the German tabloid Bild, has reignited public debate over gender and eligibility in women’s sports.
Navratilova, known for her outspoken views on the topic, took to social media platform X to criticize the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to allow Khelif to compete at the Paris Games.
Navratilova, addressing her followers, stated, “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.”
Her remarks come on the heels of a purported medical report indicating that Khelif may have male biological characteristics.
The authenticity of the report remains unverified, but it allegedly involves evaluations by expert endocrinologists from both France and Algeria.
A growing debate and public backlash
This controversy first began in the summer when both Khelif, representing Algeria, and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting faced allegations over their gender, despite winning Olympic gold as women.
The public outcry intensified after Khelif’s dominant performance in the ring raised questions, particularly after her Italian opponent, Angela Carini, withdrew from a match within 46 seconds, citing severe pain from Khelif’s punches.
Navratilova’s response has been echoed by other public figures, with British journalist Piers Morgan joining the debate, demanding that Khelif be stripped of her gold medal.
Morgan declared, “Khelif is a biological man… The gold medal should now be stripped and awarded to the best actual woman.”
Khelif’s competitive history has included prior controversy; last year, she was disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) mid-competition due to what were called “failed eligibility tests.”
Although the IBA did not clarify the basis for this ruling, it was noted that Khelif reportedly possesses XY chromosomes. The IBA, however, has been silent on its testing standards, leaving much about its methods and findings shrouded in mystery.
Khelif’s response and defiance
Despite mounting scrutiny, Khelif has remained steadfast in her identity as a female athlete. Following her victory in Paris, she addressed the critics head-on.
“As for whether I qualify or not, whether I am a woman or not… I am fully qualified to take part in this competition,” Khelif said. “I’m a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived as a woman, I competed as a woman, there’s no doubt about that.”
For her part, Navratilova has continued to challenge the IOC’s stance on gender eligibility, with her critique underscoring a call for clarity and consistent standards in competitive sports.
Imane Khelif is again seizing headlines for the same reason—controversy over her gender. After months of heated debate, the Algerian boxer’s leaked medical report has come to light, alleging that she has the XY chromosome. Her gender sparked controversy at the Olympics, raising questions about her participation. However, she went the distance and clinched the gold, and now there are demands to return it.
According to reduxx.info, endocrinologists Soumaya Fedala and Jacques Young prepared a report on Khelif, 25, last year. The report specifies that she has a 5-alpha reductase deficiency, which is a sexual development disorder found in assigned males at birth. French journalist Djaffar Ait Aoudia then received a copy of the same. A further chromosomal test also suggested that Khelif has an XY karyotype.
Confirmation of what some of us said at the time: Khelif is a biological man. The gold medal should now be stripped and awarded to the best actual woman. https://t.co/iqVlqQhrwr
As the news broke out, Piers Morgan turned to his X handle and campaigned to strip the Tiaret native of her Olympic gold. He wrote, “Confirmation of what some of us said at the time: Khelif is a biological man. The gold medal should now be stripped and awarded to the best actual woman.”
Enzo Maccarinelli blasted the fans who didn’t believe him. The former world champion’s post read, “Well well can u believe it the man who looks like a man and fights like a man is actually a man the amount of do gooding d-ckheads who lambasted me and others who tried defending women’s rights to compete in a fair sport was insane.”
These leaked medical reports have taken the boxing world by storm, and this might affect Khelif’s decision to turn pro. While she had recently expressed her desire to venture into professional boxing, she could expect increased protest over the move. The boxing world is also split, as the likes of Rick Glaser have retracted their support of the female boxer.
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Boxing insider distances himself from Imane Khelif
When tagged by a fan, Glaser expressed his opinion of the recently released reports surrounding Khelif. He responded, “Please don’t include my name in anything involving Khelif. She’s all Eddie Hearn’s.”Eddie Hearn had specified his interest in bringing her to Matchroom Boxing when she turned pro. However, the British boxer might rethink the decision given the leaked medical reports.
via Reuters
Paris 2024 Olympics – Boxing – Women’s 66kg – Prelims – Round of 16 – North Paris Arena, Villepinte, France – August 01, 2024. Imane Khelif of Algeria is seen after her fight against Angela Carini of Italy. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
The controversy surrounding Khelif started in the first match of the Olympics against Angela Carini, who quit the match within the first minute. Soon, her disqualification from last year’s World Championship over the failed gender tests made the news. Now another medical report has come out with similar claims about her.
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What do you make of these reports relating to Imane Khelif? Let us know in the comments below.
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Mandatory testing of sex chromosomes in sport is neither justified, ethical nor viable, a group of academics say.
Safety and fairness in female sport was one of the most prominent topics at this summer’s Olympic Games, where boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting took gold in the women’s welterweight and featherweight categories respectively.
The International Boxing Association had disqualified the fighters from its World Championships last year for allegedly failing gender eligibility tests, though the governing body failed to provide any concrete evidence in support of this at a press conference during the Games.
The IBA had been stripped of recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over governance failures and therefore it was the IOC which ran – and set the entry criteria for – the Olympic boxing competitions in Paris.
During the Games an editorial by a group of scientists in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports (SJMSS) proposed the introduction of sex chromosome testing amid what it described as a “growing concern” over the participation in female sport of athletes with an XY difference of sexual development (XY DSD).
Lin Yu Ting of Chinese Taipei won featherweight gold in Paris after being disqualified from the IBA’s World Championships (PA)
However, another group of experts has now questioned the proposed testing regime in an editorial in the same journal, published on Monday.
The group, which includes Professor Alun Williams from Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport, first of all highlighted the lack of direct evidence demonstrating a performance advantage for athletes with XY DSD.
Secondly, they believe the first editorial’s call for “early” testing at the sub-elite level must include minors if it is to achieve its aim. They say the concerns which led to genetic testing being abandoned in 1999 remain, “and are amplified by the vastly increased number of younger athletes” it is proposed would be tested under the new regime.
“The editorial gives the impression that such tests are straightforward – ‘individual consent, confidentiality, and dignity… simple cheek swab… standard medical care’, but these assurances ignore the enormous problems such a testing regime would generate,” the group wrote.
They argue that under the proposal for mandatory genetic testing for sport eligibility, “young athletes would not be presented with a genuine choice” and some would be subjected to invasive examination by gynaecologists.
“Consent is only a coercive offer: comply with the test or never participate in competitive women’s or girls’ sport, even at sub-elite level,” they wrote.
They also question who would pay for and produce the “worldwide army of counselling expertise” required to operate an ethically responsible genetic testing programme.
“For those undergoing follow-up clinical examination and genome sequencing….how would the devastation of young athletes’ personal identity and self-esteem, and the alarm caused to their families, be managed?” they wrote.
“The resultant duty of care of these athletes will fall to the sport federations mandating such assessments, without any realistic prospect of being fulfilled.”
The new editorial concludes: “Broad discussion is required to develop more appropriate regulations. However, the proposed mandatory testing of all young women and girls in sport is not justified by scientific evidence, has limited ethical defensibility, and is not an operationally viable proposition.”
Khelif filed a legal complaint with the French authorities over the online abuse and harassment she was subjected to during the Olympic Games.
A response to the Williams group’s editorial was also published in the SJMSS on Monday.
The response said the Williams group appeared to have applied a “no presumption of advantage” principle to XY DSD athletes.
They argue that evidence shows athletes with certain XY DSDs have: male genitals and testosterone levels within the male range, sensitivity to male-range testosterone which makes the body more masculine, a prevalence of 140 times higher in female sports compared to the general population, and reduced performance where testosterone is suppressed.
“It thus follows that athletes with these XY DSDs hold male performance advantages,” the response from a group including sports scientist Ross Tucker stated.
They also rejected the idea that testing would need to be done on minors.
“Rather, we believe that eligibility screening should occur early enough in an athlete’s career to protect their privacy and dignity and avoid the ethical failures of the past,” they wrote.
Their response concluded: “We believe that a broader screening process with follow-up examinations in rare cases is scientifically sound, ethically justifiable and operationally feasible.”
Imane Khelif’s MRI allegedly showed that the Algerian boxer lacked a uterus, had internal testes, and had a ‘micropenis’ resembling an enlarged clitoris.
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Algerian Olympic boxer Imane Khelif, who won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics 2024 in the 66kg women’s boxing category, is once again at the center of a gender-related controversy following revelations about her eligibility status. According to a report published in Reduxx, medical reports accessed by French journalist Djaffar Ait Aoudia confirm that Khelif has “testicles”.
The report further states that Khelif suffers from 5-alpha reductase deficiency, a sexual development disorder found in genetic males. The leaked medical reports were reportedly drafted in June of 2023 via a collaboration between the Kremlin-Bicêtre Hospital in Paris, France, and the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine Hospital in Algiers, Algeria.
A medical report on Imane Khelif, which included an MRI and additional tests, indicated characteristics associated with a disorder of sexual development. The MRI allegedly showed that Khelif lacked a uterus, had internal testes, and had a “micropenis” resembling an enlarged clitoris.
Chromosome tests reportedly confirmed an XY karyotype, and a hormone analysis indicated testosterone levels within the typical male range, the medical report claimed.
What is a 5-alpha reductase deficiency?
5-alpha reductase deficiency is a genetic condition that impacts sexual development in those who are genetically male, affecting them both before birth and during puberty. Individuals with this condition may be assigned female at birth due to ambiguous external genitalia that does not distinctly appear male or female. Typically, people with this deficiency experience masculinization at puberty, which may include increased muscle mass, body hair growth, and limited breast tissue development.
The Algerian boxer was suspended by the now-suspended International Boxing Association (IBA) in 2023 from participating in the World Championship Gold Medal fight in New Delhi after Khelif reportedly failed a chromosome test, however, the boxer was allowed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take part in the Paris Olympics.
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Boxer Imane Khelif is set to turn professional after winning Olympic gold in Paris, a triumph that was surrounded by a gender row.
Khelif came under scrutiny after her opening win this summer, as her opponent Angela Carini withdrew inside 46 seconds, after being hit by just one punch. Khelif went on to win gold for Algeria in the welterweight category, outpointing Luca Anna Hamori, Janjaem Suwannapheng and Liu Yang to do so.
However, the 25-year-old’s success was overshadowed by a debate around her gender, with the International Boxing Association (IBA) having disqualified her from the 2023 World Championship – allegedly because Khelif failed a gender eligibility test. The IBA said Khelif had also returned adverse test results at the 2022 World Championship.
Many unfounded claims circulated during the Paris Olympics, including that Khelif was previously a male and that she is now a transgender or intersex athlete. There is no evidence to support either of those claims, while the IBA hinted at the presence of XY chromosomes but never made the accusation outright.
In any case, Khelif remained defiant during the episode as she won gold, and she is moving forward with a pro career.
Khelif announced the news at a press conference on Sunday (20 October), while revealing that a documentary about her career is in the works.
“I will soon enter the world of professional boxing,” Khelif said, per numerous reports. “I have many offers. Currently, I have not made up my mind about where I will enter professional boxing.
“But very soon I will take this step. We, as Algerians, would like to see our level in the field of professionalism.”
Imane Khelif won Olympic gold in Paris this summer, amid a row about her gender (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
This summer, British promoter Eddie Hearn – who works with Anthony Joshua among many other star boxers – said he would be open to signing Khelif for Matchroom.
“What I’m gonna say on this is: I think there’s a lot that is unclear, so I’m gonna give you my opinion now – based off really not knowing all the facts,” Hearn told iFL TV. “So therefore, I shouldn’t really give you my opinion, but let’s have a conversation about it.
“I look at it like this: if there is an unfair physical advantage that this individual has, that is something that has to be looked at correctly – not by a rival organisation, not by someone that might have an agenda.”
Hearn was referring to the fact that the IBA previously organised Olympic boxing but ceased to do so before the 2021 Games in Tokyo. The International Olympic Committee, which ultimately oversaw boxing in Tokyo and set up the Paris Boxing Unit this summer, parted ways with the IBA over concerns relating to the organisation’s finances and links to Russia, and due to fears of corruption.
“When I first heard this story, the perception of the public and probably mine as well was: ‘This is a man who now lives as a woman, and this is not right,’” Hearn continued. “And I think if you’re born male, I don’t think you should compete against women in boxing, but if you’re born female and you’ve lived your whole life as a female, competed as a female your whole career…
Khelif celebrating her Olympic triumph in the French capital (AP)
“I’m not gonna say what’s right or wrong, I’m just gonna say the facts I know lean me towards the fact that you have a right to compete as a female; you are a female. […] Yeah, I think if the facts were laid out, and it was a position where there’s no reason why this individual shouldn’t compete as a female, [I might sign her].
“One, obviously, [she’s] a talented fighter. Two, commercially, I think [she’s] up to over 2m Instagram followers from 30,000 or something. The answer is yes, but… there’s probably a lot of facts we don’t know around this situation.”
Olympic boxer Imane Khelif labeled Elon Musk “cruel” and questioned why the Tesla founder would come at her with such hate when “you don’t even know me.”
Musk had been among the high-profile people who had taken to social media and pilled on Khelif over the unsubstantiated claims that she wasn’t a woman and should have been competing against women in the Olympics.
Elon Musk talks to other spectators while watching play between Jannik Sinner, of Italy, and Taylor Fritz, of the United States, during the men’s singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. APImane Khelif addresses hatred she received from Elon Musk during the 2024 Paris Olympics on French TV show CLIQUE. X @clinquetv
“Elon Musk was one of the first to attack me during this hate campaign,” Khelif told French TV show CLIQUE, according to a translated video of the interview.
“’He posted this video and it was retweeted. So, he was one of the first to have spread this buzz, this campaign against me. ‘I would say, you hate me but you don’t even know me. I don’t even know why you led this attack. You have been cruel to me, cruel to my family, to my mother. At that time, my mother was going to the hospital every day.”
At that point in the interview, Khelif had to fight back tears before she continued.
“So I don’t understand the behavior of people today,” she said. “God is my guide, I am a practicing Muslim woman. I am a Muslim Arabic woman and I got through this moment. I hope I will be even stronger in the future and come back even more motivated.”
Khelif has continued to push back against those who took aim at her during the Olympics over the controversy and Musk was among those in a lawsuit she filed in France over the online harassment she faced.
China’s Yang Liu in their women’s 66 kg final boxing match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. AP
“Harry Potter” author JK Rowling was also named in the suit and Khelif’s attorney asked that former President and current Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump be part of the investigation.
Khelif won gold at the Paris Olympics in the 66kg division and controversy came to the forefront after Italian boxer Angela Carini had thrown in the towel 46 seconds into their bout.
Medallist Imane Khelif of Team Algeria celebrates during the Boxing Women’s 66kg medal ceremony after the Boxing Women’s 66kg Final match on day fourteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Roland Garros on August 09, 2024 in Paris, France. Getty Images
More focus came onto the IBA ruling the year before and the International Olympic Committee defended its decision to let Khelif compete this summer.
The IBA had been stripped of its recognition by the IOC as boxing’s governing body and there have been more questions than answers over the test that led to them banning Khelif.
