A contentious fight over who should—and shouldn’t—be allowed to compete in women’s sports has materialized during the Paris Olympics amid criticism over the participation of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who was disqualified from last year’s World Boxing Championships over a controversial gender eligibility test. (UPDATE: Khelif won a gold medal Friday.)
Khelif won her semifinal match by unanimous decision. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN / AFP) (Photo by MOHD . [+] RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Khelif unanimously defeated Chinese boxer Yang Liu for the gold Friday, after a unanimous decision victory in the women’s 145-pound semifinals Tuesday.
Khelif also defeated Hungarian boxer Anna Luca Hamori by unanimous decision in the quarterfinal round—the Hungarian Boxing Association said prior to the bout it would send letters of protest to the International Olympic Committee and Hungary's Olympic committee criticizing Khelif's ability to participate at the Olympics.
The protest from the Hungarians came two days after Khelif’s first opponent, Angela Carini, withdrew from their match after a punch to the nose.
Carini cried after the match and she would not pass judgment on the matter of her opponent’s eligibility, according to the Associated Press, and told reporters she had never felt a punch like one of the strikes she sustained from Khelif.
Carini later said she wished she could go back and change how she handled the moments after the fight and "wants to apologize" for not shaking Khelif’s hand after the match.
Khelif’s participation at the Olympics has been a subject of intense scrutiny after she was disqualified during the 2023 International Boxing Association’s World Boxing Championships for allegedly failing to meet eligibility requirements for the women’s competition, though the International Olympic Committee has defended her right to compete in the Paris games and called the IBA's decision arbitrary.
IBA president Umar Kremlev told reporters this week the test administered on Khelif showed elevated testosterone levels—a statement that appeared to contradict a July 31 IBA statement stating Khelif was not subject to a testosterone exam for the World Boxing Championships and was instead put through a separate test that found she had competitive advantages over other women athletes.
The IBA, which is not recognized by the IOC over transparency issues, has said the specifics of the test are confidential—though Kremlev alleged to Russian news agency TASS last year Khelif had XY chromosomes—a pair of chromosomes typically possessed by men (Kremlev did not disclose testing details or evidence for the claim).
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The outcome of the match with Carini, and Khelif’s background, provoked criticism against the Algerian boxer, including scrutiny from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who said “athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women's competitions," according to Sky News, noting the prohibition should be done not to discriminate against anyone, “but to protect the right of female athletes to be able to compete on equal terms." Khelif is legally a female and is identified as such on her passport, according to multiple outlets. Mark Adams, the International Olympic Committee’s chief spokesman, told The New York Times that Khelif is not a transgender athlete, and Adams noted everyone competing in the Olympics’ women’s category has complied with competition eligibility rules. Khelif appealed and called her disqualification from the IBA’s World Boxing Championships last year a “big conspiracy,” according to NBC News. The IBA said its decision to disqualify Khelif was “extremely important and necessary to uphold the level of fairness and utmost integrity of the competition.” Khelif later withdrew her appeal. The Algerian fighter has competed as a woman throughout her career and also participated in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, losing in the quarterfinals against Irish boxer Kellie Harrington in a unanimous decision. Boxing at the Olympics is just the latest women’s sport to become a battleground over gender identity issues, as some critics have argued participation should be limited to people whose biological sex is female at birth. The New York Times reported that intersex athletes, or those with some biologically male characteristics and some female, have also been a focal point of the debate.
The last time the IBA organized an Olympic boxing competition was during the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. The IOC has criticized the association’s lack of financial transparency, the credibility of its boxing competitions and its governance. Some observers have also questioned the timing of Khelif's disqualification, which reportedly took place several days after Khelif had defeated a Russian boxer in the middle of the IBA's 2023 competition. Kremlev—a Russia native—is widely described as a Putin acquaintance, and the IBA has ties to Russia, though there's no direct evidence those factors are linked to the IBA's decision.
Khelif is not the only female Olympic boxer to have stirred up controversy in Paris. Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting was also disqualified from last year’s World Championships over a disputed gender test. She will fight in the women’s 125-pound semifinals Wednesday and has already clinched a bronze medal. Her first victory in the Paris Olympics was met with cheers and boos from the audience, The Washington Post reported, and prompted USA Boxing Executive Director Mike McAtee to speak up in her defense.
The IOC stood by Khelif’s inclusion, saying in a statement that did not explicitly name the boxer that “two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA,” likely referencing Khelif and Yu-ting. Algerian national team soccer player Ismaël Bennacer expressed support for Khelif in a tweet, saying she is “suffering a wave of unjustified hatred” and that her “presence at the Olympic Games is simply the result of her talent and hard work.” IOC president Thomas Bach has said there have never been any doubts about Khelif and Yu-ting being women and said the Olympics would “not take part in a sometimes politically motivated, cultural war.” Boxer Amy Broadhurst, who beat Khelif in the 2022 IBA World Championships, has supported her former opponent. “Personally I don't think she has done anything to 'cheat,'” Broadhurst wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I (think) it's the way she was born & that's out of her control.” Marissa Williamson Pohlman of Australia, also a fellow boxer, said she did notice that Khelif felt particularly strong, "but you just keep fighting, though, don’t you? It’s just a part of the sport."