JK Rowling hits out after bombshell Olympics gender test result is leaked

Olympic champ Imane Khelif’s gender furore has taken a dramatic twist with a leaked document appearing to reveal the truth.

Boxing has been rocked by the leaking of new documents that appear to show Olympic champ Imane Khelif is a biological male.

The bombshell documents have dropped more than a year after the Algerian fighter sparked an international backlash as she went on to win the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Khelif was sanctioned to compete in Paris by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) despite being banned by the International Boxing Association (IBA) one year earlier.

The IBA banned Khelif after biological samples were tested in New Delhi in 2023 — with the test results allegedly showing the DNA of a “male”.

It comes as World Boxing announced it is introducing mandatory gender testing to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes. World Boxing will organise the boxing competition at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after being granted provisional recognition by the IOC.

World Boxing said it has informed the Algerian Boxing Federation that Khelif would have to undergo the test if she wanted to compete at the Eindhoven Box Cup in the Netherlands on June 5-10.

The eyes of the world will be watching to see the results of any gender test Khelif may undergo through World Boxing — with her 2023 test result continuing to create headlines around the globe.

As reported by The Sun, the IOC — who replaced the IBA as the Olympic’s boxing governing body — were warned about the 2023 tests and urged to remove Khelif from the competition.

But Khelif was allowed to box in Paris because of her female passport status.

Now, the alleged sex-test results from the 2023 World Championships have been published for the first time by 3 Wire Sports.

Imane Khelif poses after defeating China's Yang Liu to win gold. AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos.

The medical report appears to indicate that the boxer is biologically male.

American journalist Alan Abrahamson produced the result of a test said to have been carried out on the boxer in New Delhi in March 2023 - which triggered the boxer’s disqualification.

The document published summarises the findings on Khelif as “abnormal”, stating: “Chromosome analysis reveals male karyotype.”

A karyotype refers to an individual’s complete set of chromosomes, which in Khelif’s case has been reported by (IBA) as being XY, the male pattern.

The alleged test results carry the letterhead of Dr Lal PathLabs in New Delhi, accredited by the American College of Pathologists and certified by the Swiss-based International Organisation for Standardisation.

This directly challenges what IOC spokesman Mark Adams said in a tense news conference at the Paris Olympics.

He described the results that saw Khelif banned as “ad hoc” and “not legitimate”.

IOC president Thomas Bach even claimed that the results are the product of a Russian-led misinformation campaign.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune presents an award to Algerian Olympic boxing gold medallist Imane Khelif. Photo by ALGERIAN PRESIDENCY FACEBOOK PAGE / AFP.

It followed after the IBA - headed by Russia’s Umar Kremlev - had been stripped of IOC recognition in a row over ethics and financial management.

Khelif has always denied being a biological male and even named JK Rowling and Elon Musk in a cyberbullying lawsuit.

Author Rowling, the creator of the Harry Potter series, is a prolific user of social media and has emerged as an outspoken voice on women’s rights as well as transgender and gender issues.

Rowling — who has 14.3 million followers on X — posted on Tuesday: “It’s a win for women because they won’t be battered to death in the ring by men.

“If you had any idea what physical tests women go through routinely in their lives you’d know a cheek swab is no bigger deal than flossing your teeth.

“Any more moronic questions, wing them over”.

J.K. Rowling also posted: “I never said and never believed Khelif was trans. I knew* he was a man”.

One social media user responded to Rowling’s post by writing: “Spreading hatred because you can’t resist transphobia”.

Imane Khelif and JK Rowling. Photo by Tolga Akmen / AFP.

However, the author responded: “Intersex doesn’t mean a third sex, a mixture of both sexes, or a hermaphrodite.

“Many people with DSDs (differences of sexual development) find the outdated term ‘intersex’ highly offensive, precisely because it means ignorant people like you suggest they aren’t male or female”.

Former British Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies — who has been a vocal critic of Khelif’s participation in women’s competitions — has also spoken publicly since the test result was leaked.

Davies was caught in the middle of a social media storm during the Paris Games after writing: “I’m so angry at the IOC they learn nothing from history or science & women continually pay the price.”

Davies has now written: “Please stand with all female athletes, at all levels in all sport.

“Women & girls are worthy of their own sports, free from any & all males.

“Allowing males in a sports category they have no place in is cheating in full sight. Don’t remain silent anymore.”

Khelif, meanwhile, has vowed to fight on, even eyeing another gold at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

But World Boxing has ruled that Khelif is ineligible to enter future events as a woman without first submitting to the same chromosome testing that has already triggered the boxer’s disqualification at global level.

The governing body - provisionally approved to run Olympic boxing in LA - announced that all athletes in its competitions over 18 years old must undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) genetic test to determine their sex.

Childhood photo of Algeria's Imane Khelif (Right).

The test detects chromosomal material through a mouth swab, saliva or blood.

Khelif has failed to provide any evidence of having female chromosomes in the nine months since the gender scandal erupted.

In February, Khelif spoke out in her defence and wrote: “For two years, I have taken the high road while my name and image have been used, unauthorised, to further personal and political agendas through the spreading and dissemination of baseless lies and misinformation. But silence is no longer an option.

“The IBA, an organisation that I am no longer associated with and which is no longer recognised by the IOC, have again made baseless accusations that are false and offensive, using them to further their agenda.

“This is a matter that concerns not just me but the broader principles of fairness and due process in sport.

“My team is carefully reviewing the situation and will take all necessary legal steps to ensure that my rights and the principles of fair competition are upheld.

“Those responsible for these actions must be held accountable, and we will pursue all legal avenues to ensure that justice prevails.”

The IOC has been contacted for comment.

— with Jack Figg, The Sun

Originally published as JK Rowling hits out after bombshell Olympics gender test result is leaked