Wednesday,
November 6, 2024 - An alleged report
has claimed that Olympic boxer Imane Khelif is a biological male, sparking
calls for the Algerian boxer to be stripped of her gold medal.
Khelif and Taiwan boxer Lin Yu-ting were at the centre of
a 'gender row' controversy at the Olympics after both were given the green
light to compete despite failing gender eligibility tests at last year's world
championships.
However, the issue over Khelif's credibility in winning women's gold at
the Olympics is now making headlines again following an apparently leaked
excerpt from a report, first reported by Bild, that claims Khelif is a
'biological male' - though it remains unclear whether the report is legitimate.
The report was initially put together in 2023 via collaboration between
French and Algerian expert endocrinologists working at the Kremlin-Bicetre
hospital in Paris, and the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine hospital in Algiers.
The unverified report alleges that Khelif has male characteristics.
Upon hearing the news, Piers Morgan took to X where he slammed the IOC's
decision to let Khelif compete at the Paris Games and demanded she be stripped
of her gold medal.
A fuming Morgan reacted to the report, writing 'Confirmation of what
some of us said at the time: Khelif is a biological man. The gold medal should
now be stripped and awarded to the best actual woman.'
Meanwhile, tennis legend Martina Navratilova also spoke out on the
topic and backed Morgan's claim that Khelif should have her medals stripped.
In a post on X, she said: 'What we have been saying for months. And
for calling his person a man or at least a male, we got called all kinds of
names and most of all the women this male took medals and wins from. Just
awful'.
Khelif beat Chinese boxer Yang Liu by unanimous decision to win
gold at the Olympics during an eventful run to the medal that included Italy's
Angela Carini being left in tears after struggling with the power of her
opponent.
Khelif has previously insisted she is a biological female and fumed at
reporters after gold medal victory at the Paris Olympics, stating: 'As for
whether I qualify or not, whether I am a woman or not, I have made many
statements in the media.
'I am fully qualified to take part in this competition. I'm a woman like
any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived as a woman, I competed as a woman,
there's no doubt about that.
'[The critics] are enemies of success, that is what I call them. And
that also gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.'
The outrage surrounding Khelif's participation in the Olympics, along with that of fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting, sparked outcries of fury from the author JK Rowling and Elon Musk on social media, while Donald Trump also taunted the Algerian fighter.
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