Imane Khelif ‘failed two gender tests’ as boxing insider reveals worrying details | Boxing | Sport

IBA president Umar Kremlev has called on the IOC to strip Imane Khelif of her Olympic gold medal after claiming she failed gender tests in both 2022 and 2023. Khelif, 26, dominated the women’s welterweight division in Paris last summer, prompting outcry over her participation.

In her second fight, she defeated Angela Carini of Italy in just 46 seconds. Her Italian opponent withdrew from the contest in tears after twice being hit, reportedly shouting: “It’s not fair.” Khelif, who also took part in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, proceeded to go all the way in the tournament by beating China’s Yang Liu in the final.

The IOC were widely criticised for allowing the Algerian to compete. The previous year, she had been disqualified from the IBA World Championships in New Delhi ahead of a gold medal bout against Liu after being accused by the Russian-led authority of failing an unspecified eligibility test.

Now Khelev has provided details of test results from 2022 from the previous world championships in Turkey. Khelif allegedly produced suspicious findings, which the 42-year-old described as “abnormal.”

He told the Daily Mail: “It was the first time we had encountered a situation like this, so we felt it was necessary to conduct a second round of testing to be absolutely sure before making such a serious decision.”

That testing took place 12 months later in India, with Kremlev saying the results were identical. He added: “Both tests showed XY chromosomes. That does not meet the eligibility requirements for female boxing. After that, the athletes were disqualified, and of course, we informed the IOC about the situation.”

Another boxer, Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan, also failed the tests. Both boxers were informed of the findings and given 21 days to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Neither athlete appealed, and their disqualification was upheld, but less than a year later, Khelif was crowned Olympic champion after being permitted to compete in Paris by the IOC.

Kremlev accused the IOC president of betraying the sport, claiming their stance has led to sponsors withdrawing their backing for the Summer Games. Despite the furore, Khelif has publicly vowed to compete in 2028 in Los Angeles, and has hit back at criticism from US President Donald Trump.