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Finally, Khelif admits to having a Y male sex chromosome.
In the summer of 2024, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif captured global attention by winning gold in the women’s welterweight division at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Khelif’s path to victory included a swift 46-second knockout of Italy’s Angela Carini in the round of 16, followed by dominant performances against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori, Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng, and China’s Yang Liu in the final.
Khelif’s triumph marked Algeria’s first Olympic gold in women’s boxing. It should have been a proud, historic moment. Instead, it was overshadowed by intense scrutiny over sex verification procedures. Because Khelif is a man. Which he finally admitted this month in an interview with French sports outlet L’Équipe. The story was reported shortly after by Reduxx, confirming what many had been saying for years.
Khelif has a DSD (difference in sex development) called 5-alpha reductase deficiency (5ARD). It is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder affecting XY individuals. It prevents the normal conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT) due to mutations in the SRD5A2 gene. The result is underdeveloped or ambiguous genitalia at birth, which can be mistaken for female genitalia. Typically, masculinization occurs at puberty, when there is no menstruation and male genitalia and secondary sex characteristics become more obvious due to increased testosterone.
The likelihood is that Imane was identified as female at birth. Then, around puberty, biological reality became harder to ignore. Still, Khelif has consistently claimed to have been born female. He has a female birth certificate. His passport lists him as female. Those documents would later become central to his eligibility.
In 2022, Khelif underwent a karyotype test. The results came back XY male. Despite this, he was not immediately disqualified from women’s boxing. Concerns had already been raised by medical staff and trainers. Not because of how he looked, but because of his strength and performance.
In 2023, Khelif underwent a second karyotype test. Once again, the results showed XY chromosomes. Under the standards of the International Boxing Association, this meant he was male and ineligible for women’s competition.
Following that second test, Khelif was disqualified from world competitions. After his removal, he reportedly began hormone treatment, including testosterone blockers and estrogen. Despite this, the International Olympic Committee allowed him to compete at the Paris Games.
At the time, IOC policy was largely based on legal sex markers and gender identity. The IOC stopped routine sex testing in 1999. According to its rules in 2024, if your official documents said “female,” you were eligible. Former IOC President Thomas Bach even suggested there was no reliable way to tell who is male and who is female.
The IOC defended Khelif’s participation by claiming he was the victim of a “sudden and arbitrary decision” by the IBA. Because, apparently, sex is now considered arbitrary.
What the IOC did not emphasize is that the IBA had warned them. Before the Games, the IBA sent a letter outlining Khelif’s test results. It was ignored.
As Khelif advanced toward gold, the controversy exploded. Public figures including J.K. Rowling, Elon Musk, and Donald Trump stated plainly that Khelif was male. IBA President Umar Kremlev confirmed that DNA tests showed XY chromosomes and said Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting should be disqualified.
Anyone who said this publicly was accused of bigotry by social media users and much of the mainstream press.
Supporters, including the Algerian Olympic Committee, insisted Khelif was a woman raised as female and not transgender. That may be true. He is not “trans.” But he is male. Whether he identifies as anything is irrelevant to sex-based sport.
The Algerian Olympic Committee claimed the backlash was rooted in racism, misogyny, and transphobia. Khelif filed lawsuits against critics for cyberbullying. Those cases now appear unlikely to succeed.
He was even honored by the Associated Press as one of the top female athletes of 2024. The AP argued that women of color face disproportionate scrutiny in sex testing controversies. The implication was clear: criticism was bigotry. Biology was ignored.
Then came the interview with L’Équipe.
For the first time, Khelif admitted to possessing the SRY gene on the Y chromosome, which triggers male development by initiating testes formation. This is precisely what karyotype and genetic tests detect. He also confirmed taking hormone treatments to suppress testosterone before the Olympics.
“I was born like this,” he said. “I have hormonal differences, but I decrease my testosterone levels based on my doctor’s recommendations.”
He rejected being transgender and said he was willing to undergo future testing.
Under the rules of World Boxing, the new governing body, athletes with SRY genes or androgenizing DSDs are barred from women’s categories. That means Khelif would be ineligible for women’s boxing at the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Frankly, it is hard not to wonder if Khelif understands what this means. A sex verification test will return the same result it always has: XY. Hormone blockers do not change chromosomes.
The IOC now says women’s sports are for women, but it still refuses to define how sex will be determined. So perhaps Khelif thinks there is still a chance.
Many women’s sports advocates, including myself, viewed Khelif’s admission as vindication and called for his medal to be stripped. The IOC has refused. They maintain he met the rules in 2024. Experts say retroactive action is unlikely without proof of fraud.
Some argue that DSD conditions “complicate” sex. They do not. Sex is binary. Khelif is XY. The only thing that complicates this is the willingness to ignore biology in favor of ideology.
Khelif plans to turn professional in Europe, where testing may be looser. But under World Boxing rules, his Olympic future in women’s sport is effectively over.
This case is exactly why women’s sports need firm, biology-based boundaries. Not “trans” debates. Not identity debates. Men. Whether they are trans-identified or have DSDs, they are male. They carry male physical advantages. And they do not belong in women’s categories.
If women’s sports are to mean anything at all, this line must be defended.
