Imane Khelif Appeals Mandatory Sex Testing, Will Miss Another Competition

In May, World Boxing, the governing body for the sport, announced that female boxers would be required to undergo a genetic sex test one time in their careers. The announcement was followed by a letter directed specifically at gold medalist Imane Khelif.

“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…

“Please be advised that, per World Boxing policy, “…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…”

Khelif hasn’t competed in a single fight since the Olympics. There was a competition in June, shortly after the mandatory test was announced and Khelif missed it. Last month, there were reports that Khelif had stepped away from the sport entirely, but Khelif denied them.

“I have never announced my retirement from boxing. I remain committed to my sporting career, training regularly and maintaining my physical fitness between Algeria and Qatar in preparation for upcoming events.

“The publication of such rumours is intended solely to disrupt and damage my sporting and professional career.”

So the next big opportunity to compete was this month. Would Khelif, who has repeatedly claimed to be a woman and eligible for competition, step up and take the mandatory test? If you guessed no, you win a prize.

Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif has lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport over a ruling which prevents the athlete fighting in the female category without a genetic sex test.

The Algerian has filed an appeal which is attempting to overturn a decision made by World Boxing in May to introduce mandatory testing for its competitions.

Khelif’s appeal also requested Cas declares the 26-year-old eligible for the 2025 World Boxing Championships from 4-14 September without a test.

The demand to be allowed to box at the World Boxing Championships this month despite not taking a test was an obvious gambit to get around the mandate, but it didn’t work.

Algerian Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif will not have an appeal hearing heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in time for her to compete at the World Boxing Championships which begin in Liverpool on Thursday.

Khelif’s appeal wants to challenge World Boxing’s rules, but CAS has told Sky Sports that the hearing will be scheduled on the agreement of the parties and this may take several weeks.

There will be an appeal eventually but until then, no competition for Khelif.

It’s worth pointing out again that the test we’re talking about here is a non-invasive cheek swab that can be done pretty quickly. So the fact that Khelif is appealing the rule instead of getting this over with and competing probably tells us something about the expected outcome. (Hint: It will be the same as the outcome of a previous test which found XY chromosomes.)

Finally, the Washington Examiner notes that not so long ago every news outlet under the sun seemed eager to run fact checks about Khelif’s sex and qualifications for the Olympics. Where have all those fact-checkers gone?

You may recall Khelif as being one of two women’s boxers competing at the 2024 Olympics who had previously been banned by the International Boxing Association for failing genetic tests. The Olympics allowed them to compete because their passports listed them as female, and the two proceeded to beat every woman in their path.

At the time, people pointed out Khelif’s failed IBA sex tests, but liberal media quickly declared the IBA to be a Russian propaganda organization. The Washington Post “fact checker” Glenn Kessler claimed that this was a “prominently debunked claim” initially “pushed by dubious Russian entities” and that “the questions surrounding Khelif’s sex at birth … were settled.” (Emphasis added). CNN‘s Daniel Dale called it a “lie” to claim that Khelif was a male who had “transitioned” and that the IBA, with its “extensive ties to the Russian government,” had “never substantiated” its claims…

Khelif’s attempts to circumvent World Boxing’s test indicate exactly where those test results would lead, so where are those liberal “fact checkers” who anointed themselves as the final arbiters of truth now?

That Post fact-check really was something:

During the Olympics, false claims were fanned on right-leaning television and social media that two female Olympic boxers, Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu Ting, were actually male…

Trump thrives on negative attacks and falsehoods, but it’s striking that even a semi-positive spot would feature a prominently debunked claim. The questions surrounding Khelif’s sex at birth — initially pushed by dubious Russian entities — were settled over the summer. Yet the Trump campaign still can’t resist pushing a falsehood that presumably still lingers in the dark reaches of social media.

The campaign earns Four Pinocchios.

I don’t think this will ever be fully settled (beyond where it is now) because I don’t think Khelif will ever submit to a test. If that’s the case, we should probably draw some adverse conclusions from that.

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