The Shameful Controversy Over Olympic Boxer Imane Khelif

This communicative was primitively published successful WIRED Italia and has been translated from Italian.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won her archetypal lucifer of the 2024 Paris Olympics erstwhile her opponent, Angela Carini of Italy, discontinue aft taking respective blows to the look successful the opening seconds of the bout. The triumph lone fueled the misguided contention astir Khelif, who has been targeted by critics who person misgendered her passim the Games.

Born successful 1999 successful Tiaret, Algeria, Khelif has been boxing since she was a kid and has ever competed successful women's categories. In her career, she competed successful the Women's World Boxing Championships successful New Delhi successful 2018 (finishing successful 17th place), past competed successful Russia the pursuing year. She competed successful the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, reaching each the mode to the quarterfinals, and she finished 2nd successful the 2022 Women's World Championships successful Istanbul.

Everything seemed to beryllium moving smoothly until the 2023 World Cup, organized by the International Boxing Association. The Russia-led IBA, which is not recognized by the International Olympic Committee, disqualified Khelif aft a sex eligibility trial allegedly recovered she has XY chromosomes. IBA president Umar Kremlev has said that some Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, who allegedly had a akin trial result, “were trying to deceive their colleagues and unreal to beryllium women.” Khelif has contested the allegations.

The Olympics Controversy

Both Khelif and Lin were admitted to Olympic boxing competitions. Admission rules successful this lawsuit are handled by the alleged Boxing Unit, which has ensured that each athletes participating successful the Games' boxing tourney comply with the rules of eligibility and registration for the contention arsenic good arsenic each aesculapian regulations, which besides includes the due objection of aesculapian certificates stamped and verified to astatine slightest 3 months earlier the commencement of the competitions.

“These boxers are wholly eligible. They are women connected their passports, they are women who person competed successful the Tokyo Olympics and person been competing for galore years, I deliberation we each person a work to code it down and not crook it into a witch hunt,” said IOC spokesperson Mark Adams, astatine a quality league connected Tuesday.

Still, salient figures connected societal media decried Khelif's information successful the Games. X proprietor Elon Musk amplified a tweet from swimmer Riley Gaines that “men don't beryllium successful women's sports,” portion writer J.K. Rowling falsely referred to Khelif arsenic “a antheral who’s knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting constitution enjoying the distress of a pistillate he’s conscionable punched successful the head.”

The information is that Khelif is participating successful the Games due to the fact that she is allowed to by the rules, and has passed the IOC's standards. “The existent aggression against these 2 athletes is based wholly connected this arbitrary decision,” said the Boxing Unit and IOC successful a connection Thursday, referring to the IBA ban. “[It] was taken without immoderate due procedure—especially considering that these athletes had been competing successful top-level contention for galore years. Such an attack is contrary to bully governance.”

The controversies of the past fewer days took superior issues specified arsenic hyperandrogynism—the excessive accumulation of testosterone by pistillate bodies—and intersexuality, successful which idiosyncratic is calved with enactment characteristics that don't acceptable neatly into accepted definitions of antheral and female, and debased them. They past further poisoned an already precise delicate statement astir transgender women's information successful the Olympics and sports competitions successful general.

Beyond everything, however, the information remains that Imane Khelif has ever defined herself arsenic a pistillate and the IOC is allowing her enactment successful the Olympics arsenic such. Even successful the look of assaultive nationalist opinion, determination is thing to add.