Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif has been declared ineligible to compete in the upcoming IBA World Championship, scheduled to take place in Nis, Serbia, from March 8 to 16.
The Algerian athlete, who clinched gold in the -66 kg category at the Paris Olympics, faces a continuing eligibility dispute with the International Boxing Association (IBA). IBA Secretary General and CEO Chris Roberts stated,
“Imane Khelif is not eligible for our World Championships; she does not meet the eligibility criteria. Our technical rules clearly stipulate the requirements and eligibility criteria for the event.”
This decision follows a similar restriction in 2023 when Khelif was barred from the World Championships after failing gender eligibility tests. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) took a different stance for the Paris Games, dismissing the IBA’s gender eligibility tests as “flawed and illegitimate.”
The controversy stems from Khelif‘s status as a hyperandrogenic woman. According to a medical report that emerged after the Olympics, she reportedly has
“5-alpha reductase deficiency, a disorder of s*xual development that affects exclusively biologically male individuals.”
The IOC‘s decision to permit Khelif‘s participation in Paris extended to other athletes in similar situations, including Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, who had also allegedly failed an IBA gender eligibility test. Both athletes were allowed to compete in the women’s category at the Olympics.
This ongoing conflict between the IBA‘s stance and the IOC‘s position highlights the complex challenges surrounding gender eligibility in international sports competitions, leaving athletes like Khelif caught between differing regulatory frameworks.
