IMANE KHELIF’S ambition to become a two-time Olympic champion could quite easily be impacted by the result of today’s IOC presidential election.
The Algerian boxing star was banned from competing at the 2023 Women’s World Championships after allegedly failing a gender eligibility test conducted by the IBA.
Later that year, however, the International Boxing Association (IBA) was stripped of its Olympic recognition due to concerns over governance issues and a lack of financial transparency.
As a result, Khelif was cleared by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete as a woman at the Paris Games in 2024.
After producing a series of destructive performances to claim gold, the 25-year-old was then subjected to an immense amount of backlash on social media.
But still, with no sufficient evidence that she did, in fact, test positive for XY chromosomes, Khelif has told ITV News that she is determined to compete at the Los Angeles games in 2028.
When asked about US President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender athletes in women’s sport, she simply said that those rules do not apply to her.
But while accusations of her being a trans person carry very little weight, many have attempted to argue that she is nonetheless a man.
Sebastian Coe, who is a frontrunner to win today’s IOC presidential election, has openly admitted to feeling ‘uncomfortable’ while watching Khelif fight.
More than that, the current president of World Athletics has expressed his interest in introducing gender eligibility tests across all Olympic sports.
Should he become arguably the most influential man in all of sport, Coe would then be likely to have a say in Khelif’s right to compete as a woman.
