Algeria’s Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif must undergo genetic sex screening in order to participate in upcoming events, the sport’s governing body said, as it introduced mandatory sex testing for all boxers in its competitions.
World Boxing announced the new policy on Friday and specifically mentioned Algeria’s Khelif, who won the women’s welterweight gold at the Paris Olympics last year and prompted a gender-eligibility row.
“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,” the organisation said in a statement.
“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,” it added.
World Boxing is responsible for organising bouts at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, after being granted provisional recognition by the International Olympic Committee.
Under the new policy, all athletes above the age of 18 who want to participate in a World Boxing-owned or sanctioned competition will need to undergo a PCR, or polymerase chain reaction genetic test, to determine what sex they were at birth and their eligibility to compete.
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.
The test can be conducted by a nasal or mouth swab, or by taking a sample of saliva or blood.
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 producing certification of their chromosomal sex, as determined by a PCR test.
Reuters news agency reported that Khelif could not be reached for comment, while the Algerian Boxing Federation did not immediately respond to questions about the development.
Khelif said in March: “For me, I see myself as a girl, just like any other girl. I was born a girl, raised as a girl, and have lived my entire life as one.”
“I have competed in many tournaments, including the Tokyo Olympics and other major competitions, as well as four World Championships,” she said at the time.
“All of these took place before I started winning and earning titles. But once I began achieving success, the campaigns against me started.”
The 26-year-old is targeting a second gold medal at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles after her triumph in Paris.
Her Olympic success, along with that of Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, led to a raging gender eligibility debate in Paris, with high-profile figures such as United States President Donald Trump and Elon Musk weighing in.
In February, Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.
Khelif said she would not be intimidated by Trump as she is not transgender.
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