by Imane Khelif, the gold medalist boxer at the center of gender controversy at the 2024 Paris Olympics, files legal action following reports in France that leaked medical documents claim she has male chromosomes XY.
The Algerian boxer, who became the center of a huge row when her opponent, Italian Angela Carini, refused to fight her after 46 seconds of fighting, is said to have taken action following the claims made online and on the platforms of social networks referring to “unverified information”. documents whose origin cannot be confirmed,” affirmed the International Olympic Committee.
An IOC spokesperson said: “We understand that Imane Khelif has taken legal action against those who commented on her situation during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and is also preparing legal action in response to the latest reports.
“The IOC will not comment while legal proceedings are pending, nor on media reports regarding unverified documents whose origin cannot be confirmed.
“Imane Khelif has been competing in the women’s category in international boxing competitions for many years, including the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the International Boxing Association World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.”
Khelif was one of two boxers, along with Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who were embroiled in controversy at the summer’s Paris Games after the IBA disqualified them from last year’s World Amateur Championships for what they claimed was a failure of gender eligibility tests.
But both were allowed to compete in the Olympics after the IOC took control of boxing rules at the Games due to past corruption within the IBA. The refusal to introduce gender-specific rules for athletes with “differences in sexual development”, rules which also apply to transgender competitors, led to a fierce backlash against the victories of Khelif and Lin in the women’s welterweight divisions and featherweight respectively.
The IOC added that it was “saddened” by the abuse Khelif has suffered since winning gold medals. “All athletes who participated in the Paris 2024 boxing tournament respected the rules of eligibility and registration for the competition, as well as all applicable medical rules issued by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU), adds the text.
“As in previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of athletes were based on their passport details.
“These rules also applied during the qualification period, including the 2023 European Games, Asian Games, Pan American Games and Pacific Games boxing tournaments, the ad hoc 2023 African Qualification tournament in Dakar. [Senegal]and two global qualifying tournaments, held in Busto Arsizio [Italy] and Bangkok [Thailand] in 2024, which involved a total of 1,471 different boxers from 172 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the refugee boxing team and individual neutral athletes, and featured more than 2,000 qualifying bouts.
“The PBU used the Tokyo 2020 boxing rules as a basis to develop its regulations for Paris 2024. This was to minimize the impact on athlete preparation and ensure consistency between the Olympic Games. These Tokyo 2020 rules were based on the post-Rio 2016 rules, which were in force before the IOC’s suspension of the IBA in 2019 and the subsequent withdrawal of IOC recognition in 2023. The eligibility rules should not not be changed during current competitions, and any rule changes must follow appropriate processes and must be based on scientific evidence.
“The IOC is committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes who participated in the Olympic Games. The IOC is saddened by the abuse of which Imane Khelif is currently a victim.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving deals and more.
