Two Olympic boxers have been stripped of medals as Imane Khelif ‘told to return her gold’ from Paris

Two boxers have previously held their medals stripped – for vastly different reasons.

Ryan Smart

Two Olympic boxers have previously been stripped of their medals amid controversy surrounding Imane Khelif.

Khelif won the gold medal in the women’s 66kg welterweight category at Paris 2024, defeating China’s Yang Liu in the final.

Throughout the competition, question marks were raised over her gender eligibility, after she had failed an unspecified test adminstered by the International Boxing Association (IBA) ahead of the 2023 World Championships.

Khelif was disqualified from the competition, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated that she had ‘complied with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations’ before Paris.

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They also described the IBA’s test as ‘not legitimate’ and have urged the findings to be discarded.

Since then, World Boxing – boxing’s new governing body at amateur level after the IBA was suspended – have written a letter to the Algerian Boxing Association in which they state that Khelif must undergo genetic screening before competing in their sanctioned events.

Although the body later apologised for naming Khelif in the letter, she is effectively banned from competition until she undergoes the tests.

The Olympic champion was born and raised as a girl, her father confirmed in an interview with Sky Sports.

But the IBA chairman, Umar Kremlev, has called on Khelif to return her medal – despite the fact that she was eligible to compete under IOC rules.

There is precedent for Olympic boxers to be stripped of their medals, but in vastly different cases to this one.

In 2016, Russian boxer Misha Aloian tested positive for the banned stimulant tuaminoheptane following the end of the men’s 52kg flyweight competition.

He won a silver medal, losing to Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan, but was stripped of his medal in December of that year following his positive test.

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And all the way back in 1905, American fighter Jack Egan had two medals – a silver and a bronze, won in the 1904 Games – stripped.

Egan’s real name was Frank Floyd, but he fought under his assumed name at the Olympics.

In those days, that was a breach of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)’s rules as he could have been deemed to be a ‘ringer’ – competing on behalf of another fighter.

Although such occurrences were more common in the early 20th century, as many rich people did not want to be fully associated with sports, he was disqualified from both of his medal-winning events in November 1905.

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Topics: Boxing, Olympics, United States

Ryan Smart

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Home> Boxing> Boxing News

Published 13:20 25 Jun 2025 GMT+1

Imane Khelif ‘told to return gold medal’ as bombshell new details revealed

Khelif won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Godwin Mathew

Imane Khelif has been told to return her Paris Olympic gold medal by the president of the boxing authority that was stripped of running the event in 2024.

The Algerian boxer won the gold medal in the women’s 66kg event at the Paris Games by beating Yang Liu in the final.

But her victory brought about intense debate that lingers to this day after the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) revealed she had failed what it labels gender eligibility tests at the previous World Championships.

Until now the IBA had not revealed details of the procedure undertaken after the tests but in a new interview this week, the IBA said Khelif was given a 21-day period to appeal her test results that showed that she had XY chromosomes, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS].

But she did not appeal and was disqualified from the World Championships, the IBA has said.

The 26-year-old returned to the ring at the Paris Olympics and won the gold as she passed the eligibility criteria set by the International Olympic Committee [IOC], which was based off of what an athlete’s passport said regarding their sex. The IOC took over running boxing at the 2024 Olympics due to concerns it had with the integrity of the IBA.

Now, almost a year after the Paris Olympics, President of the IBA, Umar Kremlev has asked Khelif to return her boxing gold medal.

Imane Khelif has come under fire [Photo by Aytac Unal/Anadolu via Getty Images]

What has the IBA said about Imane Khelif?

Kremlev revealed in an interview with Mail Sport that Khelif was disqualified from IBA sanctioned events after two rounds of testing first in 2022, then again in 2023, found she reportedly possessed the male XY chromosome.

Speaking about Khelif and her eligibility, Kremlev said: “The IOC is not fighting for the fairness in sport. The IOC is giving away medals based on their political interests.

“Imane Khelif should be made to return the Olympic medal from Paris.”

War of words between IBA and IOC

The IBA and IOC have been at loggerheads even before the Khelif controversy. In 2019, the IOC suspended its recognition from IBA due to governance problems that also included financial mismanagement and irregularities in refereeing.

They once again suspended their recognition in June 2023, after recommendations from its executive board.

The IOC allowed Khelif to participate in the competition and they criticised IBA’s disqualification as ‘sudden and arbitrary’.

Kremlev criticised the former IOC President Thomas Bach’s leadership in the years since the suspension of the IBA, saying: “Thomas Bach has always put politics to the podium, not the athletes who should be there in fact. And that’s why a lot of sponsors have refused working the IOC further, because they are violating sports principles.

“Thomas Bach is leaving his position and running away like a rat.”

Khelif celebrating her Olympic gold medal (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Boxing rule changes and gender tests latest

World Boxing is currently the organisation that the IOC recognise as the governing body of the sport.

Earlier this month, World Boxing announced the introduction of mandatory testing to prove eligibility of male and female athletes.

As per the new rules, Khelif would have to first take the test and prove her gender to be biologically female before competing in women’s boxing event.

The Algerian boxer was expected to make her return to ring in the Eindhoven Box Cup, but she did not participate in the event and has not revealed the reason behind that as well.