IMANE KHELIF has filed an appeal against World Boxing, seeking to overturn the body’s ruling that she must undergo sex testing in order to compete in its competitions.
The international federation made its announcement in May, declaring that all athletes, aged 18 and over, wishing to enter its tournaments – including the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 – are expected to prove their gender eligibility.
What this means is that World Boxing, the amateur code’s flagship organisation, has introduced mandatory PCR testing, hoping to determine whether a boxer has XX or XY chromosomes.
As a result, Khelif was not permitted to compete in the Eindhoven Box Cup in June, and nor has she been given the green light to enter the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool this month.
It is well documented, of course, that the Olympic champion allegedly failed a gender eligibility test prior to her gold medal victory at last year’s Paris Games.
The test, however, was conducted by the International Boxing Association (IBA), an organisation that lost its right to organise Olympic boxing events in 2023.
Moreover, the IBA has not disclosed any convincing evidence relating to its testing procedure which, according to them, determined that Khelif – who has always competed as a woman – is, in fact, a man.
In any case, the Algerian boxing star has now lodged her appeal against World Boxing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
And while the CAS cannot grant Khelif a place at this year’s World Boxing Championships, it has nonetheless put the wheels in motion to stage a hearing in the not too distant future.
Ultimately, Khelif feels that she should be eligible to compete at World Boxing competitions as a female athlete, without needing to undergo sex testing beforehand.
In order for that to become a possibility, though, both parties must first agree to proceed with the CAS hearing.
