A sex-test medical report from the 2023 World Championships has been published, appearing to indicate that Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif has male biological characteristics, contradicting the International Olympic Committee’s previous position.
The document, released just 36 hours after World Boxing ruled that Khelif would need to undergo sex screening for future competitions in the female category, was published by American journalist Alan Abrahamson on the 3 Wire Sports website.
According to the report, which was conducted at Dr Lal PathLabs in New Delhi in March 2023, Khelif’s test results were summarized as “abnormal,” stating: “Chromosome analysis reveals male karyotype.” A karyotype refers to an individual’s complete set of chromosomes, which in Khelif’s case has been reported by the International Boxing Association (IBA) as being XY, the male pattern.
The laboratory that conducted the tests carries credentials from the American College of Pathologists and certification from the Swiss-based International Organisation for Standardisation, directly challenging IOC spokesman Mark Adams’ description of the results as “ad hoc” and “not legitimate” during a press conference at the Paris Olympics.
IOC president Thomas Bach had previously claimed the results were part of a Russian-led misinformation campaign, noting that the IBA, headed by Russia’s Umar Kremlev, had lost IOC recognition due to ethics and financial management concerns. However, the official authentication of the Indian laboratory now increases pressure on the IOC to explain its position.
This development complicates Khelif’s competitive future. While the 26-year-old has publicly stated intentions to win a second Olympic gold medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, World Boxing has ruled Khelif ineligible to enter future events as a woman without first submitting to chromosome testing.
The governing body, provisionally approved to oversee Olympic boxing in Los Angeles, has announced that all athletes over 18 years old must undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) genetic test to determine their sex. This test detects chromosomal material through a mouth swab, saliva, or blood. Since the controversy began nine months ago, Khelif, who competed in Paris based on female passport status, has not provided evidence of having female chromosomes.
World Boxing’s stricter policy follows significant backlash after the Paris Olympics, where both Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting won gold medals despite having been banned by the IBA the previous year for reportedly not having XX chromosomes. Italy’s Angela Carini, who faced Khelif, expressed fears about her safety during their match.
Mexico’s Brianda Tamara, who competed against Khelif in 2022, stated: “I don’t think I had ever felt like that in my 13 years as a boxer, nor in my sparring with men.”
Latin American boxing federations have been influential in pushing World Boxing to prioritize biological sex considerations. The Honduran federation told the Women’s Rights Network that “necessary measures should be taken so that only women by birth can compete in women’s competitions,” while their Peruvian counterparts strongly advocated for the “protection of women.”
