Is Imane Khelif Biologically Male? Meet ‘Female’ Boxer Who's Got the World Speaking at Paris 2024

Is Imane Khelif Biologically Male? Meet ‘Female’ Boxer Who's Got the World Speaking at Paris 2024

  • Imane Khelif is in the middle of a gender-related controversy after her first win at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
  • Italian amateur boxer Angela Carini withdrew from her fight against Khelif after just 46 seconds, sparking reactions across the globe
  • Test results show that some individuals who are raised as females have XY chromosomes, blood testosterone levels like males

Algeria's Imane Khelif won her first Olympic boxing bout in just 46 seconds after Angela Carini withdrew from the battle in controversial circumstances.

Last year, Khelif was disqualified from competing at the World Championships after failing an unspecified gender eligibility test.

Reactions have continued to trail the eligibility of athletes with Differences in Sexual Development (DSD) to compete in women's competition.

Imane Khelif is eligible to participate at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
Imane Khelif defeated Angela Carini in her first fight at the 2024 Olympic Games. Photo: Fabio Bozzani.
Source: Getty Images

DSDs are a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones, and reproductive organs.

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Further reports have it that some individuals who are raised as females have XY chromosomes and blood testosterone levels in the range of males.

Who is Imane Khelif?

Khelif is an incredible amateur boxer who represented Algeria in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

She played football at a younger age before deciding to become a boxer.

The 25-year-old boasts a record of 51 fights (4 later disqualified), six wins by KO and nine losses.

She was knocked out of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the quarter-final. She participated at the IBA Championships in 2022, where she reached the final.

Khelif reached the final again at the 2023 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships but was disqualified shortly before the gold medal bout for failing to meet eligibility criteria.

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Why is Imane Khelif allowed at Paris 2024 Olympics?

Boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting were disqualified from the IBA in New Delhi, but the IOC rules of 2021 state that athletes should only be excluded from women's competitions if there are clear fairness or safety issues.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams said via Reuters:

"Federations need to make the rules to make sure that there is fairness but at the same time with the ability for everyone to take part who wants to. That's a difficult balance,"

Is Imane Khelif a male or female?

According to NBC, as per Hindustan Times, Khelif has yet to express her identity either as transgender or intersex publicly.

Test results have shown that some females have male-like blood testosterone levels, their bodies' capacity to use testosterone and XY chromosomes

The word DSD denotes uncommon conditions which are connected to an individual's estrogens, genes, and reproductive organs.

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Some people with DSD are brought up in a feminine manner.

Carini opens up after loss to Khelif

Legit.ng earlier reported that Italian boxer Angela Carini reacted over her withdrawal from her Round of 16 matches against the controversial Imane Khelif at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

After taking a hard punch from Khelif, she signalled to her corner to stop the fight, and the referee declared the Algerian the winner.

However, Carini refused to acknowledge Khelif, instead collapsing to her knees, overwhelmed by the abrupt end to her Olympic journey.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Babajide Orevba avatar

Babajide Orevba (Sports Editor) Babajide Orevba is a CAF-accredited Nigerian journalist, digital publishing expert, researcher, writer and TV analyst. He has covered several major football tournaments including FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, AFCON, CAF Competitions as well as grassroots competitions within Nigeria. Email: babajide.orevba@corp.legit.ng

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