Edited as of 5:42 pm 8/3/2024
Imane Khelif was born on May 2, 1999 in Tiaret, Algeria, as a female, most likely based on the determination of her assigned sex at birth through genitalia or recognized and established DNA testing. Having lived all 25 years of her life as a woman, she entered her second Olympics (the first being Tokyo 2020) only to face questioning, scrutiny, and falsification of her identity.
Let me bring you up to date. Imane Khelif started from humble beginnings, developing a passion for boxing and traveling to a nearby village for training sessions. To cover the transportation costs, she sold scrap metal. In her debut at the AIBA Woman’s World Boxing Championship in 2018, Khelif finished 17th, and in 2019, she placed 33rd, being eliminated in the first round both years. In 2020, Khelif represented Algeria at the Summer Olympics and started to gain momentum by Spring 2021, achieving her first Gold medal at the Istanbul Bosphorus International Boxing Tournament.
I bring up her modest boxing origins to question how, if the story is that she was assigned male at birth or has XY chromosomes, she continues to be bested by female opponents.
Matter of fact, where did that idea of her having too much testosterone, XY chromosomes, or being transgender even come from? Interestingly enough when I went to Google, the search engine that is available to everyone yet used by few, I was able to find some facts from places like Associated Press opposed to biased news sources and twitter handles. All shade intended.
Here’s a TL,DR run down of what I’ve found.
2022 Khelif competes for the gold medal in IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship without any issues. Finished runner up
2023 Khelif competed for the gold medal in IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship but is disqualified for failing to meet IBA eligibility criteria. Reports later said that her testosterone levels were too high. (This testing came after Khelif defeats Russian boxer Azalia Amineva)
IBA president Umar Kremlev told Russian news agency she was disqualified because a DNA test showed that she had XY chromosomes. (There has never been evidence of her having XY chromosomes and the IBA has yet to release their testing methodology and claim “the specifics remain confidential.”)
Umar Kremlev who is Russian moved much of the IBA’s governing body to Russia when he became president in 2020
2024 IBA states Khelif and others “did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential.”
What the hell?! So nooobody knows what the testing is and/or how they came to their conclusion. The IBA can virtually say we all got in a room and decided to disqualify this woman because she’s actually a man based on our confidential testing recognized only by us. Majority of the world, doesn’t typically trust Russian organizations but all of a sudden we believe the IBA? The same IBA that that in 2023 the International Olympic Committee Stripped of it’s status making it the first international federation to ever be expelled from the Olympic movement? The same IBA who’s own documents state that it should “establish a clear procedure on gender testing” after it had already disqualified the two (Imane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting) fighters.
Now here we are in 2024 with no substantial evidence that Imane Khelif has too much testosterone or XY chromosomes in the second round of the Paris Olympics welterweight competition where Angela Carini tapped out after 46 seconds claiming something that none of Kehlif’s prior opponents have brought up, that she hits too hard and “it’s not right”. Carini then cried at the reality that her Olympic run was over for what she believed was due to her opponents unfair advantage. When in reality maybe, juuustt maybe Khelif was simply the stronger woman.
Everyone’s “heart has hurt” for Angela Carini with the belief that she was fighting a biological man but my heart hurts for the Imane Khelif the 25 year old woman who has had to whole world down play her hard work and call her a man. Can you imagine, living in a world where someone can corroborate a lie with no evidence to back it up and the world runs with it? Imagine making it to the Olympics and watching something so defaming spreading like wildfire.
This is not the first time female athlete’s testosterone levels have come up. Caster Semenya, the South African middle distance runner, won 2 gold medals in 2012 and 2016 for the 400 meters before being forced to give up competing due to her testosterone levels being too high based on tests by World Athletics.
(She has the option of taking medication to reduce her testosterone levels by taking medication however according to Semenya the medication had a negative impact on her health).
Fact of the matter is people are different. There are many women who have higher levels of testosterone by having conditions like Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder caused by an excess of androgen hormones in women. And Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is a disorder that directly affects the adrenal glands and the production of the body’s hormones. In many cases of CAH, the body overproduces androgen.
How can we tear down other women for having varying conditions?
How can we tell women that they can’t compete because of advantages out of their control? And why didn’t we say the same for Michael Phelps who produces less lactic acid, double jointed and has a hydrodynamic body? For him it was something cool, for women advantages have society questioning if they are even women.
Even outside of the testosterone conversation people have had opinions about female athlete’s bodies and have questioned their womanhood for years now.
"People would say I was born a guy, all because of my arms, or because I'm strong," she said. "I was different to Venus: She was thin and tall and beautiful, and I am strong and muscular — and beautiful, but, you know, it was just totally different." - Serena Williams for Harper’s Bazaar
As women's sports gain prominence and recognition for our dedication and athleticism, let's aim to elevate respect and empathy alongside it. Let's combat misinformation and extend trust to other women in the pursuit of women's empowerment and self-acceptance.
Morgan Bullock
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