Olympics gender row boxer Khelif blocked from competing as female until she takes chromosome test

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World Boxing introduces mandatory sex screening after Paris controversy – Algerian gold medallist told she CANNOT fight at Netherlands event next week

Imane Khelif will not be able to compete in female category at upcoming event due to new testing rules, body says – The controversial Algerian athlete will no longer be able to compete in the Eindhoven Box Cup from 5 June due to mandatory sex testing for all boxers.

Boxing’s new global governing body is introducing sex testing from July – but has already informed Imane Khelif she won’t be eligible to compete as a female fighter at an event in the Netherlands next week.

The Algerian’s disputed failed gender eligibility test – conducted by a different controversial boxing body – was a major issue at the Paris Olympics before she won gold.

World Boxing said its new policy “reflects concerns over the safety and wellbeing of all boxers, including Imane Khelif, and aims to protect the mental and physical health of all participants.

This, it says, is “in light of some of the reactions that have been expressed in relation to the boxer’s potential participation at the Eindhoven Box Cup.”

Chromosome test required

In an unprecedented move, World Boxing has told the Algerian Boxing Federation that Khelif must undergo a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) genetic test to detect the presence of Y chromosomes before she can compete again.

Imane Khelif may not participate in the female category at the Eindhoven Box Cup, 5-10 June 2025 and any World Boxing event until Imane Khelif undergoes genetic sex screening in accordance with World Boxing’s rules and testing procedures,” the governing body stated.

The PCR test, which can be conducted through a mouth swab, saliva or blood sample, specifically looks for the SRY gene – almost always found on the Y chromosome and crucial in determining male sex characteristics.

Emergency measures

World Boxing’s Executive Board took the extraordinary step of implementing the new rules immediately, citing “special or emergency circumstances” rather than waiting for their next Congress.

These new eligibility rules were developed with the express purpose of safeguarding athletes in combat sports, particularly given the physical risks associated with Olympic-style boxing,” the letter to Algeria stated.

The decision comes after “some of the reactions that have been expressed” about Khelif’s planned participation at the Eindhoven Box Cup, with World Boxing explicitly stating concerns about protecting “the mental and physical health of all participants.

Paris controversy returns

The 25-year-old Algerian became one of the most controversial figures at the Paris Olympics after the now-banned International Boxing Association (IBA) claimed she had failed “unspecified eligibility tests” and possessed XY chromosomes.

Despite the IBA’s disqualification from the 2023 World Championships, the International Olympic Committee cleared Khelif to compete in Paris, where she went on to win welterweight gold.

After her victory, Khelif declared: “I am a woman. I was born a woman and was raised a woman, and I compete as a woman.”

Trump weighs in

The controversy even drew criticism from then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, who blasted the IOC for allowing Khelif to compete against biological women.

Former IOC President Thomas Bach defended Khelif’s participation, stating the IOC’s gender eligibility policies permitted her involvement in the women’s category.

The boxer later filed a lawsuit in France citing “acts of aggravated cyber harassment” over the public backlash to her Olympic participation.

Fellow boxers protest

World Boxing’s decision comes after some competitors had already spoken out against Khelif’s planned participation at the Eindhoven Box Cup, with the governing body facing “significant pressure” from boxers and federations to create clear sex eligibility standards.

Some boxers were expressing ‘why is Khelif there in Eindhoven?’ and there is a lot of hate out there, especially on social media,” boxing experts noted.

The new policy requires all athletes over 18 to undergo mandatory testing, with national federations responsible for administering the tests and providing results to World Boxing.

LA 2028 dreams in doubt

Khelif had announced intentions to defend her Olympic title at the 2028 Los Angeles Games in a March interview, declaring: “I see myself as a girl, just like any other girl.”

But with World Boxing now provisionally recognized by the IOC as boxing’s official governing body for LA 2028, her Olympic future hangs in the balance pending the outcome of genetic testing.

The governing body will offer an appeals process and support to any boxers who provide an “adverse test result,” though what constitutes such a result remains to be fully clarified.

Not transgender, says expert

Boxing analysts stressed that Khelif “is not a transgender athlete” and that “her passport and her birth certificate say she is female.

“If the test comes back and she has two X chromosomes and is a female, and has no DSD, this is the end of the argument,” one expert said, referring to Differences in Sex Development conditions.

The NHS defines DSD as “a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones and reproductive organs” meaning “a person’s sex development is different to most other people’s.

Safety comes first

World Boxing defended its decision as being “designed solely to ensure the health and safety of all participants” and insisted it does not “pre-judge the outcome of any testing.

World Boxing respects the dignity of all individuals and its overriding priority is to ensure safety and competitive fairness to all athletes,” the statement read.

To do this, it is essential that strict categories determined by sex are maintained and enforced, and means that World Boxing will only operate competitions for athletes categorised as male or female.

Global implications

The new mandatory testing policy, which officially begins July 1, 2025, marks a significant shift in how boxing will police gender eligibility going forward.

With more than 100 national federations now members of World Boxing, including Algeria which joined in September, the policy will have far-reaching implications for the sport globally.

As the countdown begins to the Eindhoven Box Cup, all eyes will be on whether Khelif submits to testing – and what those results might reveal about one of the most controversial Olympic champions in recent memory.

Image credit: Imane Khelif en 2024 by Algérie Presse Service, licensed under CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.