Latest news with #IBAWomen

National Post

Terry Newman: Sorry, Imane Khelif. You won't be punching any more women in the face.

Sex confirmation testing results for Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif, an Algerian who has racked up numerous medals defeating women in boxing, were leaked Sunday. The results proved what many around the world already suspected — that Khelif is a biological male who had no business being in a boxing ring with women, and a letter on a passport won't change that. Article content Article content American sports journalist Alan Abrahamson posted on his website, 3 Wire Sports, an image of Khelif's 2023 sex confirmation results which were performed in New Delhi by Dr Lal Pathlabs prior to the 2023 International Boxing Association (IBA) Women's World Boxing Championships. The result reads: 'chromosomal analysis reveals male karyotype,' meaning Khelif is a biological male with XY chromosomes. The report was also uploaded in full by science writer Colin Wright. Article content Article content And as far as female sex confirmation tests go, this isn't the first Khelif has failed. In addition to the test taken in New Delhi, Khelif failed the same test administered by IBA in Istanbul in 2022. Article content The leaked test results followed a statement Friday from the World Boxing Association, which announced it would be following the IBA, introducing its own mandatory sex testing for all boxers to ensure participant safety and a competitive level playing field for both men and women. The association made it clear that Khelif 'will not be allowed to participate in the female category at the Eindhoven Box Cup or any World Boxing event until Imane Khelif undergoes sex testing.' Article content With two major boxing associations now backing sex-based eligibility, there's hope that biological females will no longer have to square off against biological males, as China's Yang Liu had to against Khelif, who defeated her for the gold medal in women's welterweight boxing at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games. Article content Article content Five days into those Olympic Games, before their match, IBA released a statement expressing concern about the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) 'inconsistent application of eligibility criteria.' The IBA raised competitive fairness and safety concerns about IOC's 'differing regulations on these matters.' Article content IBA warned that Khelif and another boxer failed eligibility criteria for participating in the women's competition after taking a 'recognized test' which they claimed 'conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.' IBA noted that the decision to disqualify both athletes was made after a 'meticulous review,' explaining that it is 'extremely important and necessary to uphold the level of fairness and utmost integrity of the competition.'