Legal expert explains if Imane Khelif's gold medal will be stripped from her after World Boxing ban
A legal expert has explained whether Imane Khelif could be stripped of her Olympic gold medal after being banned by World Boxing.
Less than 12 months ago, the 26-year-old Algerian won gold in the women's welterweight boxing at the Paris Olympics, making headlines when a debate emerged over her gender.
A year prior to the games, Khelif, alongside Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting allegedly failed the International Boxing Association's (IBA) gender eligibility guidelines. But she was allowed to compete at the games by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) who stripped the IBA of its position as boxing's amateur global governing body in 2023 due to concerns over how it was ran.
The IOC said competitors were allowed to compete in the women's division if their passports said they were female.
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Now Khelif has been banned from competing in World Boxing events, unless she can provide proof of being a biological woman.
But what about last year's Olympic gold medal; is it safe?
Doraine Lambelet Coleman, a Thomas L. Perkins Distinguished Professor of Laws at Duke Law School, told Newsweek over email: "The IOC would not revoke medals won by athletes who were eligible according to the rules it set for the boxing competition in Paris.
"Unlike the eligibility rules set by the IBA and now WB, those rules did not require competitors to be biologically female."
What has the IOC said on Khelif?
In October 2024, there were reports that Khelif would be stripped of her Olympic gold medal.
In response, a spokesperson for the IOC emailed news agency Reuters. They said: "There is absolutely no truth in these claims."
Now Khelif has been banned from competing in World Boxing events, unless she provides proof she is female under 'mandatory testing' rules as part of a new policy on 'sex, age and weight.'
In reaction to the ban, an IOC spokesperson said: "The IOC has always made it clear that eligibility criteria are the responsibility of the respective International Federation."
What has Khelif said since the ban?
She issued her first statement since the ban, when she took to Instagram on the 'Global Day of Parents.'
She said: "Today, I became a champion, but it all started long ago! When my parents believed in me, even when the dream felt too big.
"When they supported me, listened to me, and stood by me. Being a parent isn’t easy. There’s no manual.
"But the love, patience, and trust you give your child can change everything. On this #GlobalDayOfParents, I just want to say thank you."
What have Khelif's rivals said?
The last boxer to beat Imane Khelif back in 2022 Amy Broadhurst spoke about the matter last summer.
The Brit said: "Personally I don’t think she has done anything to ‘cheat’. I thinks it’s the way she was born and that’s out of her control. The fact that she has been [beaten] by nine females before says it all."
Boxing expert Steve Bunce has also previously spoken about the Algerian.
He told the BBC: ""What's interesting is in the build up to the fight, some of her old opponents, good fighters, world champions and European champions, have said [Khelif] is not a cheat."
James Taylor