A women’s rights group has demanded that Imane Khelif’s Olympic gold medal be stripped off her following a new report alleging that there was evidence that the Algerian boxer was ‘biologically male’.
Khelif and Taiwan boxer Lin Yu-ting were at the centre of a ‘gender row’ controversy at the Olympics after both were given the green light to compete despite failing gender eligibility tests at last year’s world championships.
She was barred from the IBA-sanctioned Women’s World Boxing Championships in 2023, though the IOC – who had suspended the IBA – had cleared the Algerian to compete.
Earlier this month, a report in France – which is yet to be confirmed as legitimate – alleged that the 25-year-old has ‘male characteristics’ and XY chromosomes.
Now, the co-founder of the Independent Council on Women’s Sport (ICONS) has claimed that Khelif’s medal which she won, having been cleared to compete by the IOC, the Olympics’ chief governing body, should be taken away from her.
We agree that the medal and all awards should be taken away and given to the best performing female athlete,’ said ICONS co-founder Kim Jones, when asked by German outlet BILD.
Jones added: ‘Sanctions and penalties should be imposed to hold accountable those – including the heads of the IOC and the Algerian team – who put women at serious risk through deception and loss of their performances.
‘This case is a perfect example of what goes wrong when leadership is too fearful or too uninformed to do its job.’
The report was said to be a collaboration between French and Algerian expert endocrinologists working at the Kremlin-Bicetre hospital in Paris, and the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine hospital in Algiers.
But Jacques Young, an endocrinologist at Bicetre Hospital in Paris who reportedly co-authored the document, has told DW in Germany that he feels his name is being used to spread false information.
In a statement to DW, the Algerian Olympic Committee said: ‘These attacks, often based on unsubstantiated allegations, aim to tarnish the image of an athlete who has brought honour to our nation on the international stage.
‘We firmly condemn these attempts at destabilization, which have no place in the world of sports.’
The IOC said it will ‘not comment while legal action is ongoing, or on media reports about unverified documents whose origin cannot be confirmed’. It then repeated a statement issued following the controversy at the Paris Olympics.
