Imane Khelif barred from upcoming women's boxing tournament until passing new mandatory sex test
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif will not be competing as expected in an upcoming World Boxing women's competition until completing a mandatory sex test, the organization announced on Friday.
"Imane Khelif may not participate in the female category at the Eindhoven Box Cup, 5-10 June 2025 and any World Boxing event until Imane Khelif undergoes genetic sex screening in accordance with World Boxing's rules and testing procedures," a letter sent by World Boxing to the Algerian Boxing Federation read.
The letter also stated that World Boxing decided to adopt mandatory sex tests this month.
"These new eligibility rules were developed with the express purpose of safeguarding athletes in combat sports, particularly given the physical risks associated with Olympic-style boxing," the letter read.
World Boxing added in a statement that the new policies are "designed solely to ensure the health and safety of all participants in World Boxing competitions (including Imane Khelif) and is not deemed to in any way pre-judge the outcome of any testing that will be introduced as part of the new policy on 'Sex, Age and Weight.'"
The controversial gold medalist was slated to return to the sport at the Eindhoven Box Cup in The Netherlands in June. Now, Khelif will only be able to compete if a polymerase chain reaction genetic test — a laboratory technique used to detect specific genetic material — is passed.
World Boxing claims the policy will include an appeals process and support will be offered to any boxers that provide an adverse test result.
Khelif, who was the subject of global controversy during the Paris Olympics, was previously disqualified from the International Boxing Association for failing a gender eligibility test. IBA President Umar Kremlev claimed unpublished DNA test results showed Khelif had XY chromosomes, which is the default combination for men. Then, en-route to winning women's gold in Paris, Khelif infamously beat Italy's Angela Carini by forfeit, as Carini cried after the match because of how hard Khelif's punches were.
The incident even prompted the backlash of President Donald Trump during his campaign last summer, who spoke out against the International Olympic Committee for allowing Khelif to compete. Former IOC President Thomas Bach defended Khelif's participation, as IOC's gender eligibility policies permitted Khelif's participation.
Khelif later filed a lawsuit in France citing "acts of aggravated cyber harassment" over the public response to her participation.
Khelif announced intentions to compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics in an interview with ITV in March.
Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Rare 19th-century condom with erotic etching goes on display at Dutch museum
CNN — A rare 19th-century condom decorated with an erotic etching featuring a nun and three clergymen is going on display at a museum in the Netherlands. Believed to be made from a sheep's appendix, the prophylactic dates back to 1830 and is likely a souvenir from a brothel, according to a statement from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam on Tuesday. Joyce Zelen, curator of prints at the museum, told CNN that condoms would have been sold under the counter at the time. This example is in 'mint condition,' she said, with UV testing revealing that it hasn't been used. This fact, as well as the print and the extended length of the condom, which is 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) long, suggest that this was 'a luxury brothel souvenir,' added Zelen. 'It makes it more of an object to laugh about with your friends than an actual object to use,' she said. In the etching, the nun can be seen seated with her legs open while the three clergymen hold up their robes, revealing their erect penises. 'The inscription Voilà mon choix, meaning 'This is my choice,' makes the print a parody of both celibacy and the Judgement of Paris from Greek mythology,' said the museum. Zelen explained that the printmaker would have laid the appendix of a sheep or goat out flat and used a copper plate with the inked etching on it to print the design onto it. While this kind of condom was not likely to have been used, those designed to protect the wearer would have been made with similar materials, said Zelen. They would have provided minimal protection from unwanted pregnancies and sexual transmitted infections such as syphilis, which was a significant public health problem in 19th century Europe, she added. The Rijksmuseum acquired the condom at auction six months ago and it is the first example of a print on a condom to form part of the museum's collection. It will be on display in the museum's Print Room until the end of November as part of an exhibit on 19th century prostitution and sexuality. In recent years the Rijksmuseum has hit the headlines for putting together the largest ever exhibition of paintings by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, as well as for repatriating colonial artifacts to Sri Lanka following provenance research that started in 2017.
Fast Company
3 hours ago
- Fast Company
What's happening in the Netherlands? Dutch government collapses after far-right party leaves ruling coalition over immigration
Immigration, which has dominated the headlines since in the United States since President Donald Trump kicked off his second term this January, is also making headlines in Europe. On Tuesday in the Netherlands, Prime Minister Dick Schoof stepped down after the leader of the country's far-right party, Geert Wilders, withdrew his party from the ruling coalition over disputes about asylum and immigration, effectively causing the Dutch government's collapse and triggering new snap elections, according to the Guardian. The government collapse comes a few weeks before a major NATO summit in The Hague, and marks the unraveling of a multi-party coalition made up of: Wilders' anti-Islam Freedom party (PVV), the Farmer-Citizens Movement (BBB), the centrist New Social Contract (NSC), and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). 'We had agreed that the Netherlands would become the strictest (on immigration) in Europe, but we're trailing somewhere near the bottom,' Wilders said, according to Reuters. 'I intend to become the next prime minister. I am going to make the PVV bigger than ever.' In 2023, Wilders' PVV actually won by a landslide in the general election, but the four major parties that created the coalition picked Dick Schoof as prime minister, leading longtime Prime Minister Mark Rutte, of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, to step down from the post. At that time, the disputes were over immigration, just as they are today. Last Monday, Wilders' PVV announced a 10-point plan to reduce immigration that would effectively slash migration, temporarily halt asylum seekers who were granted refugee status from reuniting with families, and place soldiers at borders to turn away asylum-seekers. At issue are Syrians who are in the Netherlands as a result of the violence in their home country. The question many political analysts are now asking: Is this another example that Europe is shifting toward the right, as seen by Poland's recent election? On Sunday, voters elected conservative nationalist Karol Nawrocki as that country grapples with the E.U.'s second-highest fiscal deficit, and weighs Ukraine's future as a NATO member state.
Associated Press
3 hours ago
- Associated Press
LA28 Event Programme Marks Strong Commitment Towards Innovation and Gender Equality
International Olympic Committee news The event programme and athlete quotas for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) have been approved by the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). With a total of 351 medal events, 22 more than at Paris 2024 (329), the LA28 programme maintains the core athlete quota of 10,500, with an extra 698 quota places allocated for the five sports proposed by the LA28 Organising Committee (baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash). For the first time in history, all team sports will have at least the same number of women's teams as men's teams, with water polo adding two women's teams, making it now 12 women's and 12 men's teams. Football, with 16 female teams, will feature more women's teams than men's (12). Gender equality was a key consideration when deciding on the athlete quota and the number of events. In the initial sports programme, with 10,500 athletes, the number of female athletes is 5,333 and the number of male athletes 5,167. The additional sports add 322 female athletes and 376 male athletes. In addition, six mixed events were added to the event programme. Out of 351 events, there are 161 women's events, 165 men's events and 25 mixed events. A powerful platform for female athletes New medal opportunities and innovation The full event programme is available here. Twenty-four out of 31 Olympic International Federations had put forward a request for a change in their event programme from the Olympic Games Paris 2024. In total, 46 new events were requested (16 male / 17 female / 13 mixed), six of which were to potentially replace existing events, making a net total of 40 more events requested. In total, 772 additional quota places were requested for the initial sport and event programme of 10,500 athletes (339 male / 433 female). The event programme principles The event programme for LA28 was developed based on the requests submitted by the International Sports Federations to the IOC. The decision from the IOC EB followed the recommendation from the Olympic Programme Commission and the principles approved in 2023, which specified that the Games should be gender equal, globally appealing, cost and complexity conscious, and athlete focused. LA28 sports programme With the inclusion of boxing, approved by the IOC Session in March 2025, the LA28 sports programme is composed of 31 sports, with an additional five sports proposed by the Organising Committee and approved by the IOC in 2023. ### The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit, civil, non-governmental, international organisation made up of volunteers which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 4.7 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world. ### For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:Tel: +41 21 621 6000, email: [email protected], or visit our web site at Broadcast quality footage The IOC Newsroom: Videos YouTube: Photos For an extensive selection of photos available shortly after each event, please follow us on Flickr. To request archive photos and footage, please contact our Content Licensing Unit at: [email protected]. Social media For up-to-the-minute information on the IOC and regular updates, please follow us on X and YouTube. Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from International Olympic Committee
