Latest news with #genderEligibility
BBC News
03-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Imane Khelif: World Boxing says Algerian fighter must undergo sex test to compete in female category at their events
Khelif required to take sex test for World Boxing fights , Imane Khelif won welterweight gold at the Olympic Games in Paris last year Author, Timothy Abraham Role, BBC Sport journalist 30 May 2025 Olympic champion Imane Khelif will not be allowed to fight in the female category at World Boxing competitions until she undergoes a mandatory sex test. Algeria's Khelif, along with Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting, was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships by previous world governing body the International Boxing Association (IBA) for allegedly failing gender eligibility tests. Khelif was cleared to compete in Paris by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which stripped the IBA of its status as the sport's amateur world governing body in June 2023 over concerns over how it was run. The IOC said competitors were eligible for the women's division in Paris if their passports said they were female. On Friday, World Boxing said that "all athletes over the age of 18" who wish to participate in competitions it owns or sanctions will "need to undergo a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) genetic test to determine their sex at birth and their eligibility to compete". Khelif had been set to make a competitive comeback at the Eindhoven Box Cup from 5-10 June. Khelif has always competed in the women's division and there is no suggestion she identifies as anything other than a woman. Some reports took the IBA stating that Khelif has XY chromosomes to speculate she might have differences of sexual development (DSD) like runner Caster Semenya. However, the BBC has not been able to confirm whether this is or is not the case. The IOC made it clear last year this is "not a transgender case". What has World Boxing said? World Boxing was granted provisional recognition as the sport's international governing federation by the IOC in February 2025. "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," the World Boxing statement said. "The policy is in the final stages of development and has been crafted by a specially convened working group of the World Boxing medical and anti-doping committee, which has examined data and medical evidence from an extensive range of sources and consulted widely with other sports and experts across the world." The statement added that World Boxing "respects the dignity of all individuals" and its overriding priority was "to ensure safety and competitive fairness to all athletes". "To do this, it is essential that strict categories, determined by sex are maintained and enforced, and means that World Boxing will only operate competitions for athletes categorised as male or female," it said. "This decision reflects concerns over the safety and wellbeing of all boxers, including Imane Khelif, and aims to protect the mental and physical health of all participants." In its statement, World Boxing published a letter it had sent to both Khelif and the Algerian Boxing Federation. In the letter World Boxing said the new eligibility rules were developed "with the express purpose of safeguarding athletes in combat sports" given the "physical risks associated with Olympic-style boxing". It also said in the letter that in "the event the athlete's sex certification is challenged by the athlete's federation or by World Boxing" the athlete shall be "ineligible to compete until the dispute is resolved". The Algerian Boxing Federation joined World Boxing in September. Background - Khelif's controversial gold The gender eligibility tests on Khelif that led to her disqualification from the 2023 World Championships were conducted by the Russian-led IBA. The IBA said Khelif "failed to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in women's competition". The IOC questioned the legitimacy and credibility of the IBA's tests, saying they could not be relied upon. Khelif and Lin both went on to win gold in Paris, with their story becoming the central focus of boxing at the games, attracting scrutiny and criticism from around the world. Boxing has featured at every Olympics since 1904, except 1912, but the IOC has run the sport at the past two Games. The sport was initially not part of the programme for LA 2028 when the schedule was first announced in 2022. But the IOC granted provisional recognition for World Boxing as the sport's global governing body earlier this year before voting for its inclusion. In February 2025, the IBA launched a legal case against the IOC or allowing Khelif to compete citing safety concerns over gender eligibility. Khelif called them "baseless accusations that are false and offensive". What is DSD? DSD is a group of rare conditions, whereby a person's hormones, genes and/or reproductive organs may be a mix of male and female characteristics. Some of those affected prefer the term "intersex", which is an umbrella term used to describe people who are born with biological variations in their sex characteristics that don't fit typical male or female categories. Other sports have rules in place for athletes with DSD, whose elevated testosterone levels can lead to increased muscle mass and strength. World Athletics, for example, only allows athletes with DSD to compete in female track events if they reduce their testosterone levels. How will testing take place? World Boxing provided a detailed explanation about the testing in its statement. "The PCR test is a laboratory technique used to detect specific genetic material, in this case the SRY gene, that reveals the presence of the Y chromosome, which is an indicator of biological sex," it said. "The test can be a be conducted by nasal/mouth swab, saliva or blood. "Athletes that are deemed to be male at birth, as evidenced by the presence of Y chromosome genetic material (the SRY gene) or with a difference of sexual development (DSD) where male androgenization occurs, will be eligible to compete in the male category. "Athletes that are deemed to be female at birth, as evidenced by the presence of XX chromosomes or the absence of Y chromosome genetic material (the SRY gene) or with a DSD where male androgenization does not occur, will be eligible to compete in the female category." Under the new policy, national federations will be responsible for testing and will be required to confirm the sex of their athletes when entering them into World Boxing competitions by providing a certification of their chromosomal sex, as determined by a PCR test. World Boxing said failure to provide that will render the athlete "ineligible to compete" and may lead to sanctions against the athlete or their national federation. The organisation added: "Where test results for boxers that want to compete in the female category reveal Y chromosome genetic material and a potential DSD, the initial screenings will be referred to independent clinical specialists for genetic screening, hormonal profiles, anatomical examination or other valuation of endocrine profiles by medical specialists. "As part of its new policy World Boxing will reserve the right to do genetic sex screening on new or existing athlete samples to confirm certification.
BBC News
03-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
World Boxing sorry for naming Khelif in rule change
World Boxing has apologised after Olympic champion Imane Khelif was named in the governing body's announcement of mandatory sex governing body released its new policy last week, and singled out the Algerian, saying Khelif will not be allowed to compete in the female category of its competitions until the fighter undergoes the World Boxing has told BBC Sport its president Boris van der Vorst has since written to the Algerian Boxing Federation to apologise after acknowledging that "the athlete's privacy should have been protected".Khelif, 26, won women's welterweight gold at the Paris Olympics last year amid a row over gender along with Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting, was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships by previous world governing body the International Boxing Association (IBA) for allegedly failing gender eligibility was cleared to compete in Paris by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which stripped the IBA of its status as the sport's amateur world governing body in June 2023 over concerns over how it was IOC said competitors were eligible for the women's division in Paris if their passports said they were female. Khelif had been set to make a competitive comeback in Eindhoven from 5-10 on Friday, World Boxing said mandatory sex testing would be introduced next month "to ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field for men and women."It added: "In light of plans to introduce this policy and the particular circumstances surrounding some boxers that competed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, World Boxing has written to the Algerian Boxing Federation to inform it that Imane 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."This decision reflects concerns over the safety and wellbeing of all boxers, including Imane Khelif, and aims to protect the mental and physical health of all participants in light of some of the reactions that have been expressed in relation to the boxer's potential participation at the Eindhoven Box Cup."World Boxing also published a letter it had sent to both Khelif and the Algerian Boxing Federation, claiming that the new eligibility rules were developed "with the express purpose of safeguarding athletes in combat sports" given the "physical risks associated with Olympic-style boxing".It also said in the letter that in "the event the athlete's sex certification is challenged by the athlete's federation or by World Boxing" the athlete shall be "ineligible to compete until the dispute is resolved".World Boxing was granted provisional recognition as the sport's international governing federation by the IOC in February 2025, and the Algerian Boxing Federation joined it in has always competed in the women's division and there is no suggestion the fighter identifies as anything other than a reports took the IBA stating that Khelif has XY chromosomes to speculate that the fighter might have differences of sexual development (DSD), like runner Caster the BBC has not been able to confirm whether this is or is not the IOC made it clear last year this is "not a transgender case".In a statement on Tuesday, the IOC said it "has always made it clear that eligibility criteria are the responsibility of the respective International Federation. The factors that matter to sports performance are unique to each sport, discipline, and/or event."We await the full details of how sex testing will be implemented in a safe, fair and legally enforceable way."World Boxing has said that its new policy is in the final stages of development, and will mean that "all athletes over the age of 18 that want to participate in a World Boxing owned or sanctioned competition will need to undergo a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) genetic test to determine their sex at birth and their eligibility to compete."
ABC News
31-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif must undergo genetic sex screening to fight for World Boxing
World Boxing has confirmed it will introduce mandatory sex testing for all boxers in its competitions. The governing body added that Paris Olympics gold medallist Imane Khelif will not be allowed to compete until she undergoes such a test. "Imane Khelif may not participate in the female category at … any World Boxing event until Imane Khelif undergoes genetic sex screening in accordance with World Boxing's rules and testing procedures," World Boxing said in a statement. "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." The new policy comes less than a year after Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting both won gold in Paris amid a gender-eligibility row. World Boxing said they had written to the Algerian Boxing Federation stating that Khelif would not be allowed to compete at the upcoming Eindhoven Box Cup from June 5–10 until she underwent the test. Women's welterweight Olympic champion Khelif has not yet commented on the announcement, nor has the Algerian Boxing Federation. The country's federation joined World Boxing in September, one of more than 100 national federations that have joined the body since it was established in 2023. While amendments to competition rules are typically done by the World Boxing Congress, the new policy was adopted by the body's executive board, which holds the authority to make immediate amendments under "special or emergency circumstances". "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," World Boxing's statement said. All athletes over the age of 18 will have to undertake a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) genetic test, which can be conducted by a nasal or mouth swab, saliva or blood, World Boxing said. "The PCR test is a laboratory technique used to detect specific genetic material, in this case the SRY gene, that reveals the presence of the Y chromosome, which is an indicator of biological sex," World Boxing said. "Athletes that are deemed to be male at birth, as evidenced by the presence of Y chromosome … or with a difference of sexual development (DSD) where male androgenisation occurs, will be eligible to compete in the male category. "Athletes that are deemed to be female at birth … or with a DSD where male androgenisation does not occur, will be eligible to compete in the female category." In February, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in women's sports. In March, Khelif said she was determined to defend her title at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, adding that she would not be intimidated by Trump as she is not transgender. At the 2023 world championships, Khelif was disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after a test that the body said rendered her ineligible to fight as a woman on the grounds of gender. The IBA lost its Olympic recognition over governance issues, however, and the International Olympic Committee cleared Khelif to compete in Paris. AP/Reuters
