The controversy over Imane Khelif continues. The Algerian boxer gained fame after winning the gold medal in 66kg at the Paris Olympics. However, the fame didn’t come from appreciation but rather scrutiny. The 25-year-old took the internet by storm after her round of 16 opponent, Angela Carini, decided to withdraw from the bout in just 46 seconds. The Italian boxer claimed that she’d never been hit so hard in her life and exited the ring crying.
IBA vs IOC
It was then revealed that the International Boxing Association (IBA) had banned Imane before she played the final at the 2023 World Championships for failing to meet gender eligibility criteria. According to the boxing federation, Imane was biologically male and had an XY chromosome. However, the IBA was stopped from releasing the documents suggesting so by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Algerian Olympic Committee (AOC) and was allowed to compete in Paris.
Report labels Imane Khelif, a man
Three months after winning the gold, a medical report has been leaked, which suggests that Image was born without a uterus and has internal testicles, a micropenis, and XY chromosomes. The report was published in June 2023, and it is only now that a French journalist named Djaffar Ait Aoudia was able to secure it.
The document suggests that Imane Khelif has a disorder called 5-alpha reductase insufficiency. A simple search would bring results that suggest that the condition occurs in biological males, and because of it, you can’t grow facial or body hair along with infertility in most cases. The report also recommended that Khelif should preferably undergo surgical correction and hormone therapy to help him/her physically align with their self-perceived gender identity.
What’ll IOC do now?
Now, it’s been seen what the IOC does. The fact that Khelif was allowed to participate despite the IBA claiming she’s a biological man with supposed proof, then a fellow boxer quitting midway through a match to her winning the gold, doesn’t reflect well on the organisation in charge of the biggest sports event.
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