A leaked medical report disclosed that Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer who won the gold medal in women’s boxing at the Paris Olympics 2024, is a male.
According to data, which is in possession of French journalist Djaffar Ait Aoudia, Khelif has been suffering from a disorder called 5-alpha reductase insufficiency. The leaked report stated that Khelif has internal testicles and XY chromosomes.
The report, however, was not new, nor was the revelation. The Kremlin-Bicetre Hospital in Paris and the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine Hospital in Algiers drafted the report in June 2023.
The report stated the existence of internal testicles and the lack of a uterus in Khelif’s body. Additionally, an MRI revealed the presence of a micropenis, as reported by Redux.
In 2023, the International Boxing Association (IBA) banned Khelif from participating in the World Championship gold medal bout in New Delhi after a failed medical test.
Controversy broke out at the Paris Olympics earlier this year when Italian boxer Angela Carini refused to continue her fight against Khelif after just 46 seconds of the bout. She later alleged, “I have never felt a punch like this.”
Carini fell to her knees sobbing and refused to shake Khelif’s hand after the Algerian was declared the winner.
Khelif, 25, also competed at the Tokyo Olympics 2021 but made an early exit. In Paris, she went on to win the gold medal in the women’s 66kg category with a unanimous win over China’s Yang Liu.
After winning the gold medal, Khelif declared: “I am a woman like any other.”