Imane Khelif, the Olympic gold champion, was legally prohibited from participating in World Boxing competitions less than a year after the Paris Games.

Algerian boxer Khelif made news during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris after a gender-based controversy arose after she won the women’s welterweight title.

Khelif was approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete in Paris despite failing the gender eligibility tests administered by the International Boxing Association (IBA) in the World Championships a year before to the Olympic Games.

Discussions over her gender were further fuelled when the 26-year-old went on to win the gold medal in the women’s 66kg division with relative ease.

Additionally, Khelif has been prohibited from participating in any upcoming women’s World Boxing competitions unless she can prove that she is biologically female, almost a year after the Paris Olympics.

World Boxing may have made this choice as a result of growing pressure in recent months about women’s sport safety and equity.

They recently verified that, should Khelif pass the required sex check, she would be permitted to compete in the female class of the Eindhoven World Cup next week.

However, World Boxing has now banned the 26-year-old indefinitely because she has not submitted to any such tests in the nine months since the Olympics.

“The introduction of mandatory testing will be part of a new policy on ‘Sex, Age and Weight’ to ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field for men and women,” World Boxing said in an official statement.

“The fighters’ national federations will be responsible for administering the tests and providing the results to World Boxing.”

The boxing association further stated that Khelif and other boxers were notified of the policy modification and that the decision was made in response to “the particular circumstances around some boxers.”

“Imane Khelif may not compete in the female category at the Eindhoven Box Cup or in any World Boxing event until Imane Khelif undergoes genetic screening in accordance with World Boxing’s rules and testing procedures,” the statement added.

Khelif has steadfastly maintained that she is a woman and that she disagrees with the IBA’s earlier conclusions ever since concerns about her gender were brought up during the Olympics.

In a recent interview with The Telegraph, she said, “I see myself as a girl just like any other girl. I was born a girl, raised as a girl, and have lived my entire life as one.”

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