Imane Khelif's sex test results 'leaked' and proves whether banned female boxer is actually a biological male
The sex tests results belonging to Olympic boxer Imane Khelif have been published for the first time - less than a year after major controversy in the Paris Games.
Khelif was one of the biggest talking points at the showpiece in Paris, from the moment she prompted Angela Carini of Italy to quit just 46 seconds into their fight after two brutal punches.
The 26-year-old went on to dominate the 66kg competition, beating China's Yang Liu via unanimous decision in the final and becoming the second Algerian to win a Gold medal at the Olympics.
Throughout her participation at the event, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) were forced to issue a number of comments and statements amid debate regarding the boxer's gender.
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The welterweight's father also responded to the backlash, with Khelif later breaking her silence by calling an end to the "bullying" and filing a complaint with Paris prosecutors for "aggravated online harassment".
Khelif was one of two boxers banned from the World Championships in New Delhi, India by the IBA after failing unspecified gender tests and president Umar Kremlev claiming she had XY (male) chromosomes.
The Russian-led IBA were stripped of its duties as governing body by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and replaced by the Paris Boxing Unit (PBU) for the Olympics, with Khelif, born and identifying as a female, cleared to compete on the basis of having a female passport.
What are Imane Khefli's gender test results?
Having yet to participate in mandatory PCR tests as part of a new policy on ‘Sex, Age and Weight’ for World Boxing events in the women’s category, Khelif has been handed an indefinite ban from the organisation until she proves the absence of a Y chromosome.
However, the storm centering around Khelif continues as the aforementioned test results from March 2023 appear to have been shared by journalist Alan Abrahamson on the 3 Wire Sports website - the only outlet to have seen the analysis.
The results, collected by Dr Lal PathLabs in New Delhi on 17 March at 10:30am, were then accredited by the American College of Pathologists and certified by the International Organisation for Standardisation.
As per the document, the result summary is described as "abnormal" - with the chromosome analysis reported to have revealed a "male karyotype”.
When questioned about the results in a Paris press conference, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the tests were "not legitimate" and did not "deserve any response".
“Those tests are not legitimate tests," he stated.
"The tests themselves, the process of the tests, the ad hoc nature of the tests are not legitimate.
“The testing, the method of the testing, the idea of the testing, which happened kind of overnight. None of it is legitimate and this does not deserve any response.”
Khelif had gone on record to say she harboured hopes of becoming a two-time Olympic gold medallist in Los Angeles in three years but recent developments may prevent her from having the opportunity to do so.
World Boxing has been given provisional status by the IOC to govern the sport in LA and Khelif does not meet the criteria to compete as it stands.
In October, the fighter said she has "many offers" to go into professional boxing and will make the move "very soon"
SPORTbible has reached out to the IOC for comment.
Josh Lawless