Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif is facing growing calls to return her gold medal after failing gender eligibility tests. The 25-year-old Algerian boxer, who won the women’s 66kg event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is now at the center of a storm involving both the International Boxing Association (IBA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The controversy stems from earlier IBA testing that found Khelif had XY chromosomes, typically associated with being biologically male. Though she was disqualified from the IBA World Championships in 2023 for this reason, the IOC still allowed her to compete in Paris, based solely on her passport designation as female.
At the time, the IOC criticized the IBA’s disqualification as “sudden and arbitrary.” However, IBA President Umar Kremlev is now demanding action. He recently told Mail Sport that Khelif should return her Olympic medal, accusing the IOC of prioritizing “political interests over fairness in sport.”
“Imane Khelif should be made to return the Olympic medal from Paris,” Kremlev stated. “The IOC is giving away medals based on their political interests.”
Future Olympic Participation in Doubt
The IOC had taken over Olympic boxing duties from the IBA due to concerns about financial mismanagement and questionable officiating. As a result, Khelif’s participation slipped through under more lenient rules—rules that did not require competitors to be biologically female.
While legal experts say the likelihood of Khelif being stripped of her gold is slim, public scrutiny remains high. Nearly a year after the Games, critics argue that her case undermines the integrity of women’s sports.
Looking ahead to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, Khelif’s return seems doubtful. The IOC has now recognized World Boxing as the new governing body for the sport. World Boxing has introduced mandatory gender eligibility testing, which would likely disqualify Khelif unless she provides biological proof of being female.
Khelif has since withdrawn from the Eindhoven Box Cup without explanation and appears unlikely to fight again soon. Still, she remains defiant, recently celebrating Olympic Day on Instagram despite the ongoing controversy.
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