Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who shone at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games by winning the gold medal in the women's category, is now facing a sensitive and highly controversial investigation. The international boxing organization "World Boxing", officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has ordered a mandatory gender test against her, following accusations and doubts raised by some of her opponents, who claim that Khelif should not compete in the women's category.
The decision comes as World Boxing announced it was in the "final stages" of implementing mandatory gender testing for all athletes competing in its events. The announcement has sparked a debate over privacy, athlete rights and the limits of biological gender in sport.
During the Olympics, Khelif faced fierce controversy after the publication of a medical report claiming that she has XY chromosomes (male sex chromosomes). In response, she took legal action against French authorities for defamation, abuse, and online harassment.
“I have all the qualifications to participate in this competition, I am a woman. I was born a woman, I lived as a woman and I fought as a woman,” she declared after her triumph. “Success often brings enemies, and that gives my medal an even more special flavor.”
Her case has brought the sensitive issue of including athletes of questionable or different genders in competitions segregated by biological sex back to the center of global debate.
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