Imane Khelif to take legal action over leaked medical report; IOC saddened by claims

Imane Khelif is taking legal action over media reports allegedly detailing her leaked medical records, the International Olympic Committee has confirmed.

Reports published in France this week claimed the 25-year-old has XY (male) chromosomes.

The fighter claimed gold in the women's welterweight competition in Paris amid huge controversy after the International Boxing Association said Khelif had been disqualified from last year's World Championships for failing gender eligibility .

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Khelif filed a legal complaint with the French authorities over the online abuse and harassment she was subjected to during the Games and according to the IOC she will also take action over the new reports.

"We understand that Imane Khelif has taken legal action against individuals who commented on her situation during the Olympic Games Paris 2024, and is also preparing a lawsuit in response to the latest reporting," an IOC spokesperson said.

Gold medallist Imane Khelif of Team Algeria. Getty

"The IOC will not comment while legal action is ongoing, or on media reports about unverified documents whose origin cannot be confirmed.

"All the athletes who participated in the boxing tournament at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 complied with the competition's eligibility and entry regulations, together with all the applicable medical regulations enacted by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU).

"As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes were based on their passport details.

"The IOC is committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes who have taken part in the Olympic Games as per the Olympic Charter, the IOC Code of Ethics and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights. The IOC is saddened by the abuse that Imane Khelif is currently receiving."

The leaked medical report, published in French magazine Le Correspondant, states Khelif has a condition known as 5-alpha reductase deficiency that affects sexual development.

The medical report from 2023 allegedly showed Khelif neither had ovaries or a uterus, had internal testicles and an XY chromosome make-up.

The report was a collaboration between French and Algerian experts in 2023 working at the Kremlin-Bicetre hospital in Paris, according to German newspaper BiLD.

It's understood the two reports were known to the International Olympics Committee since May 2023.

The IBA had barred Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting along with Khelif from competing in the governing body's world championships in New Delhi 2023, but the IOC deemed both boxers to be eligible to compete in Paris.

The Russian-led body was stripped of its governance by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over integrity issues, with its tests and credibility called into question.

IBA President Umar Kremlev took aim at IOC boss Thomas Bach after the report was published, calling for the Olympics boss to "kneel and apologise" to the international boxing community.

"Everyone already knows the news. The International Olympic Committee has violated all sports rules by putting a man against a woman," Kremlev said.

"Tests have again confirmed that Imane Khelif is indeed a man. Today, as the President of the International Boxing Association, which upholds gender equality and protects both women's and men's boxing.

"I demand that Thomas Bach and his team both verbally and in writing, apologise to the global boxing community. Thomas Bach himself bears direct responsibility for this, as he personally lobbied for this to happen – for men to compete against women.

"On behalf of all boxers in the world, I demand them to kneel and apologise to the boxing community and to those girls who have been beaten and abused.

"Thomas Bach, I am now waiting, as is everyone in IBA, for your official apology."

Bach was adamant about Khelif's eligibility during the Paris Games, while denouncing the IBA's decision to pull both Lin and Khelif from the world championships last year.

"We have two boxers who are born as women, who have been raised as women, who have passports as women, and who have competed for many years as women. This is the clear definition of a woman," he said of Khelif and Lin.

"There was never any doubt about them being a woman. What we see now is that some want to own the definition of who is a woman.

"And there I can only invite them to come up with a scientific based new definition of who is a woman and how can somebody being born, raised, competed and having a passport as a woman, cannot be considered a woman?"

The news sparked a strong reaction, with tennis great Martina Navratilova saying Khelif "should not have been allowed to box at the Olympics."

She also referenced the lawsuit Khelif was reportedly putting together to hold those responsible for the their commentary during the Games.

Khelif has previously stated that she is a biological female.

"As for whether I qualify or not, whether I am a woman or not, I have made many statements in the media," she said.

"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."

Her father also hit out at the critics following her 46-second victory against Italian Angela Carini, saying: "The attacks against her are immoral, it is not fair.

"Imane is a little girl that has loved sport since she was six-years-old, she used to play football.

"These critics and rumours aim to destabilise Imane, they don't want her to be the champion of the world.

"I tell her prove them wrong in the ring and I hope that she will honour Algeria and Arabic countries and win the gold medal.

"She is our role model, and we want to be like her and honour Algeria and Tiaret."

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