IMANE Khelif will take to the ring again on Saturday at the Paris Olympics just 12 months after she failed gender eligibility tests at the World Championships.
Khelif has been at the centre of a gender row since Italy’s Angela Carini quit their round-of-16 bout just 46 seconds in.
Is Imane Khelif a man?
Imane Khelif was born on May 2, 1999 in Tiaret Province, Algeria.
Khelif is not transgender and identifies as female on her passport.
She is one of two athletes who were thrown out of last year’s World Championships in India after failing to meet gender eligibility criteria.
International Boxing Association (IBA) officials found tests showed Khelif had ‘XY chromosomes’ — which indicates a person is biologically male.
Rare ‘intersex’ medical conditions, medically known as differences in sexual development (DSDs), can also mean outwardly female individuals can have ‘male’ chromosomes, or vice versa.
The Russia-led IBA organised the World Championships but is no longer recognised by the IOC, meaning Khelif has been cleared to appear at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Speaking last March IBA president Umar Kremlev said Khelif and Yu-ting were “posing” as women ahead of the 2023 World Championships.
“Based on DNA tests, we identified a number of athletes who tried to trick their colleagues [by] posing as women,” Kremlev said.
“According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have XY chromosomes. Such athletes were excluded from competition.”
But the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that the gender on her passport qualifies Imane to compete against fellow women at the Olympics.
The IOC said in a statement: “All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations.
“The IOC will not discriminate against an athlete who has qualified through their IF, on the basis of their gender identity and/or sex characteristics.”
The controversy over Khelif’s gender was sparked after she beat Italian Angela Carini in the 66kg category in just 46 seconds.
The pair only exchanged a few punches before Carini abandoned the bout.
The Italian refused to shake Khelif’s hand after fight.
Carini said: “It hurt so much. I am heartbroken. I went to the ring to honour my father.
“I was told a lot of times that I was a warrior, but I preferred to stop for my health. I have never felt a punch like this.
“After the second blow, and after years of experience in the ring and a lifetime of fighting, I felt extreme pain in my nose.”
Khelif will face Anna Luca Hamori, the first Hungarian Olympic boxer, in the quarterfinals on Saturday, August 3.
Olympics gender controversy
THE International Olympic Committee (IOC) stirred up a huge controversy by clearing two women to box who had previously failed a gender test.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting were disqualified at the Women’s World Championships in New Delhi, India, in March 2023.
Lin Yu-ting was stripped of a bronze medal after failing a gender eligibility test.
Khelif was disqualified in New Delhi for failing a testosterone level test.
Officials found tests showed they had ‘XY chromosomes’ — which indicates a person is biologically male.
Rare ‘intersex’ medical conditions, medically known as differences in sexual development (DSDs), can also mean outwardly female individuals can have ‘male’ chromosomes, or vice versa.
The Russia-led International Boxing Association organised that event but is no longer recognised by the IOC.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said: “These athletes have competed many times before for many years, they haven’t just suddenly arrived – they competed in Tokyo.
“The federation needs to make the rules to make sure that there is fairness but at the same time there is the ability for everyone to take part that wants to. That is a difficult balance.
“In the end the experts for each sport are the people who work in that. If there is a big advantage that clearly is not acceptable, but that needs to be a decision made at that level.”
Both Khelif and Lin competed at the delayed Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. Lin is a two-time winner at the Asian Women Amateur Boxing Championships.
The IOC said all boxers in Paris “comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations”.
The controversy follows the famous case of Caster Semenya.
South African middle-distance runner Semenya has a condition which means her body naturally produces higher levels of testosterone than normal for women.
She won gold in the 800m at London 2012 and Rio in 2016 but was unable to compete at Tokyo in 2021 after World Athletics brought in new rules independently of the IOC at the time.
