World Boxing has apologised for naming Imane Khelif last week while announcing the introduction of mandatory sex testing.
When the governing body released its new policy, it named Khelif, who won Olympic gold at the Paris 2024 Games amid a gender row. World Boxing said the Algerian will not be allowed to compete in its female categories without first undergoing a sex test.
However, the governing body has now told the BBC that its president, Boris van der Vorst, has sent a written apology to the Algerian Boxing Federation. In his letter, Van der Vorst said “the athlete’s privacy should have been protected”, per the BBC.
Khelif, 26, won gold in the women’s welterweight category at last summer’s Olympics, while Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting became featherweight champion. Each boxer’s success was overshadowed over the course of the Olympics, due to their respective disqualifications from the 2023 World Championship.
The International Boxing Association (IBA), which oversaw that competition, alleged that both fighters had failed gender eligibility tests, leading to their disqualifications. The IBA previously oversaw Olympic boxing, too, but was removed ahead of the 2020 Games due to concerns about the organisation’s finances and links to Russia, and due to fears of corruption.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said boxers could compete in the women’s categories in Paris if their passports said they were female. Khelif was born and raised as a woman and has never identified as transgender or intersex.
She was due to return to action in the Netherlands between 5 and 10 June, but on Friday, World Boxing announced the introduction of mandatory sex testing “to ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field for men and women”.
A statement 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.”
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World Boxing also said “[in] the event the athlete’s sex certification is challenged by the athlete’s federation or by World Boxing, [the athlete will be] ineligible to compete until the dispute is resolved”.
The IOC granted World Boxing provisional recognition as the sport’s international governing body in February. The Algerian Boxing Federation joined World Boxing in September.
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