Olympic boxer claimed she ‘had to preserve her life’ after quitting against Imane Khelif after just 46 seconds
Khelif will now need to undergo genetic screening to compete in future events organised by World Boxing, the governing body has confirmed.
An Olympic boxer claimed she had to ‘preserve her life’ when quitting her fight against Imane Khelif after just 46 seconds at Paris 2024.
Khelif, representing Algeria, won the gold medal in the women’s welterweight category in Paris after defeating China’s Yang Liu in the final.
But there was significant controversy surrounding the victory amid question marks raised over Khelif’s gender eligibility.
Back in 2023, Khelif was disqualified from the World Championships after failing an unspecified gender eligibility test.
Ahead of the Olympics, the IOC’s stance on the matter was that Khelif had ‘complied with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations’.
The Algerian’s boxer father told Sky Sports that Khelif was born and raised as a girl, with then-IOC president Thomas Bach stating there was ‘never any doubt’ over whether she is a woman.
The original row stemmed from comments made by the vice-president of the International Boxing Association (IBA) – who administered the World Championships.
He claimed that Khelif and another Olympic boxer, Lin Yu-ting, were found to have XY chromosomes.
However, in July 2023, the IOC decided to strip the IBA of its status as boxing’s world governing body, due to concerns over its governance of the sport.
Khelif then rose to public prominence after her first appearance at Paris 2024, in the second round.
She received a bye from the first round before taking on Italy’s Angela Carini, who decided to quit the fight after just 46 seconds.
Carini later told BBC Sport: “I wasn’t able to finish the match. I felt a strong pain to my nose and I said for the experience that I have and the maturity as a woman that I have, I said I hope my nation won’t take it too badly, I hope my dad won’t take it badly. But I stopped, I said stop for myself.
“It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment.”
The Italian later apologised to Khelif for her comments, telling Gazzetta dello Sport: “All this controversy makes me sad. I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.
“It wasn’t something I intended to do. Actually, I want to apologise to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.”
What is happening to Imane Khelif now?
Days after she won the gold medal, Variety reported that Khelif and her legal time had filed a criminal case against Twitter (X) over alleged ‘acts of aggravated cyber harassment’.
Then, in February of this year, she accused the IBA of making ‘false and offensive’ accusations after it launched its own lawsuit, this time against the IOC, over their decision to allow Khelif to compete in Paris.
There have been fresh developments in the situation over recent days, with World Boxing – the sport’s new governing body at amateur level – confirming that Khelif would have to take a gender eligibility test in order to compete in future events.
Image: World Boxing
In a letter written to the Algerian Boxing Association, they state: “Imane Khelif may not compete in the female category at the Eindhoven Box Cup or in any World Boxing event until Imane Khelif undergoes genetic screening in accordance with World Boxing’s rules and testing procedures.”
The test can detect the presence of ‘specific genetic material’, including Y chromosomes.
A leaked document, claimed to be from a 2023 result of the same type of test, was reportedly published by Dr Lal PathLabs in New Delhi, and then shared on the 3 Wire Sports website by Olympics writer Alan Abrahamson.
The tests – which have already previously dismissed by the IOC as ‘not legitimate’ and something that did not ‘deserve any response’ – claim that the test brought an ‘abnormal result’ revealing a ‘male karyotype’. SPORTbible have contacted the IOC for further comment.
News
My Husband Left Me Bleeding Ten Days After Giving Birth — Then Posted “Happy Birthday to Me” From a Luxury Mountain Resort.k
# The Day the Vibe Died ## 1 Ten days after I gave birth, I learned that a woman can beg for help in the same house where her wedding portrait still hangs and remain completely alone. The nursery…
Hours After Giving Birth, My Mother-in-Law Slapped Me in My Hospital Bed — But She Didn’t See My Parents Standing Behind the Privacy Screen.k
The Room Where She Was Born 1 My daughter was three hours old when my mother-in-law slapped me. That is the sentence I always return to, though there are gentler places where the story could begin. I could start…
My Husband Thought a Broken Leg Would Silence Me — Until My 4-Year-Old Daughter Dialed the One Number He Feared Most.k
The Secret Number 1 The night David broke my leg, the house smelled of bourbon, rain, and the expensive citrus cologne he wore when he wanted people to believe he was a better man than he was. Rain struck…
Young Female CEO Humiliated by Billionaire Family, She Walks Away from $900M Deal
Young Female CEO Humiliated by Billionaire Family. She Walks Away from $900M Deal They offered me $900 million, then looked me in the eye and told me I still needed “leadership presence.”They wanted my company, my technology, my contracts, and…
The Girl Who Couldn’t See. The Boy Who Saw Everything.
The Girl Who Couldn’t See. The Boy Who Saw Everything. I thought my daughter had been blind for three years. Then a twelve-year-old boy in Boston Common looked at her and said, “No, she isn’t.” Before I could answer, my…
At His 21st Birthday Gala, His Mother Fired A Poor Waitress And Said, “You Should Have Stayed Gone”—But Her Daughter At The Piano Exposed The Real Heir.k
At His 21st Birthday Gala, His Mother Fired A Poor Waitress And Said, “You Should Have Stayed Gone”—But Her Daughter At The Piano Exposed The Real Heir. My Daughter Played Three Notes at a Boston Gala, and the Hale Family’s…
End of content
No more pages to load
