Imane Khelif takes legal action after news report claimed she had male chromosomes
The Algerian boxer at centre of Olympic gender row has responded to French reports as the IOC says it is saddened by the abuse the boxer has received.
Boxing/MMA
Don't miss out on the headlines from Boxing/MMA. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Imane Khelif, one of the boxers at the centre of the Olympic gender row in Paris this year, is taking legal action in response to the latest reports in France claiming the gold-medal winner in the women’s welterweight division has male XY chromosomes, the International Olympic Committee has said.
The IOC said the latest claims made online and across social media platforms are based on “unverified documents whose origin cannot be confirmed”.
Khelif, from Algeria, and Lin Yu Ting, a Taiwanese fighter who won the women’s featherweight title at the Games, became embroiled in controversy when it emerged that the International Boxing Association (IBA) had disqualified both athletes from the amateur World Championships last year for allegedly failing gender eligibility tests.
For Khelif, the situation erupted when Italy’s Angela Carini refused to fight on after 46 seconds of their round-of-16 bout, dropping to her knees, slamming the canvas with her fists and bursting into tears after sustaining a couple of early blows.
With the issue complicated by the IBA’s suspension and the IOC’s failure to introduce specific regulation around the participation of athletes with “differences of sexual development” — as well as transgender athletes — Olympic officials also said the IBA had failed to produce sufficient evidence to support its claims.
On Tuesday evening the IOC maintained its position, dismissing a report in France claiming to have a medical report that proves 25-year-old Khelif is a DSD athlete and should therefore not have been allowed to compete in the female category in line with the majority of Olympic sports.
A spokesperson for the IOC said: “We understand that Imane Khelif has taken legal action against individuals who commented on her situation during the Olympic Games Paris 2024, and is also preparing a lawsuit in response to the latest reporting.“ The IOC will not comment while legal action is ongoing, or on media reports about unverified documents whose origin cannot be confirmed.
“Imane Khelif has been competing in the women’s category in international boxing competitions for many years, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.”
Again, the IOC defended the position it employed for boxing at the Games, maintaining that it was “saddened” by the “abuse” aimed at Khelif.
“All the athletes who participated in the boxing tournament at Paris 2024 complied with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, together with all the applicable medical regulations enacted by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU),” continued the statement. “As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes were based on their passport details.
“These rules also applied during the qualification period, including the boxing tournaments of the 2023 European Games, Asian Games, Pan-American Games and Pacific Games, the ad hoc 2023 African qualifying tournament in Dakar (Senegal), and two world qualifying tournaments, held in Busto Arsizio (Italy) and Bangkok (Thailand) in 2024, which involved a total of 1,471 different boxers from 172 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the Boxing Refugee Team and Individual Neutral Athletes, and featured over 2,000 qualification bouts.
“The PBU used the Tokyo 2020 boxing rules as a baseline to develop its regulations for Paris 2024. This was to minimise the impact on athletes’ preparations and guarantee consistency between Olympic Games. These Tokyo 2020 rules were based on the post-Rio 2016 rules, which were in place before the suspension of the IBA by the IOC in 2019 and the subsequent withdrawal of IOC recognition in 2023. Eligibility rules should not be changed during ongoing competitions, and any rule change must follow appropriate processes and should be based on scientific evidence.
“The IOC is committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes who have taken part in the Olympic Games. The IOC is saddened by the abuse that Imane Khelif is currently receiving.”
THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN THE TIMES
More Coverage
Originally published as Imane Khelif takes legal action after news report claimed she had male chromosomes
Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul: Everything you need to know
The most anticipated fight of the year is upon us, and while Mike Tyson gears up for his long awaited comeback and Jake Paul looks for the biggest win of his career, we break down everything you need to know.
Crute’s shock reveal ahead of UFC comeback
It looked as though Jimmy Crute was retiring following his loss to Alonzo Menifield last year. 18 months on, he reveals the dramatic change in his life – and why he’s making a UFC comeback.