Women's sports activists react after boxer Imane Khelif makes confession about biological sex
Boxer Imane Khelif admitted to having the SRY gene, located on the Y chromosome, which is found in biological males, and undergoing hormone treatments to lower testosterone levels ahead of the 2024 Olympics in an interview with the French sports publication L'Equipe.
Khelif has denied being transgender.
"We all have different genetics, different hormone levels. I'm not transgender. My difference is natural. This is who I am. I haven't done anything to change the way nature made me. That's why I'm not afraid," Khelif said.
"I have taken hormone treatments to lower my testosterone levels for competitions."
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Khelif committed to also taking a genetic sex test to compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, which will likely be required.
"For the next Games, if I have to take a test, I will. I have no problem with that," Khelif said.
The Independent Council on Women's Sports (ICONS) released a statement addressing Khelif's admission.
"Algerian Olympic women’s gold medalist Imane Khelif has now confirmed he is male. With men no longer eligible for Olympic women’s boxing under World Boxing rules, Khelif reportedly plans to box professionally in Europe, though he inexplicably says he will still undergo sex screening for the LA 2028 Games in hopes of competing," the statement said.
Khelif won a gold medal in women’s boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics under heavy scrutiny from the International Boxing Association (IBA), which was derecognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2023 amid concerns about the organization's governance, financial reliance on Russian state energy firm Gazprom and the integrity of the bouts.
Khelif was previously disqualified from the IBA for failing a gender eligibility test. IBA President Umar Kremlev claimed at the time that unpublished DNA test results showed Khelif had XY chromosomes.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) defended the results of the Paris Games, stating that Khelif and another boxer who faced gender eligibility concerns were the victims of a "sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA."
World Boxing, the international governing body for the sport, announced a new policy in August that introduces mandatory sex testing to ensure only females compete in the women's category. Khelif has appealed the new policy that will keep the athlete out of any competitions pending the results of genetic testing.
Khelif did not compete in an international boxing tournament in the Netherlands last summer after failing to register in time before the applications closed.
President Donald Trump previously said there will be a "strong form of testing" when asked about potential genetic testing for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics at a news conference Aug. 5.
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