World Boxing apologizes for naming Olympic champion Imane Khelif in sex test policy

Algeria's Imane Khelif poses after defeating China's Yang Liu to win gold in their women's 66 kg final boxing match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

The president of World Boxing has apologized after Olympic champion Imane Khelif was singled out in the governing body’s announcement to make sex testing mandatory.

Algerian boxer Khelif, who won gold at the Paris Games last summer amid scrutiny over her eligibility, was specifically mentioned when World Boxing released its new policy last Friday.

On Monday, its president Boris van der Vorst contacted the Algerian Boxing Federation to acknowledge that was wrong.

“I am writing to you all personally to offer a formal and sincere apology for this and acknowledge that her privacy should have been protected,” he wrote in a letter seen by The Associated Press.

Van der Vorst added he hoped by “reaching out to you personally we show our true respect to you and your athletes.”

Khelif and fellow gold medalist Lin Yu-ting from Taiwan were in the spotlight in Paris because the previous governing body for Olympic boxing, the International Boxing Association, disqualified both fighters from its 2023 world championships, claiming they failed an unspecified eligibility test.

However, the International Olympic Committee applied sex eligibility rules used in previous Olympics and cleared Khelif and Lin to compete.

World Boxing has been provisionally approved as the boxing organizer at the 2028 Los Angeles Games and has faced pressure from boxers and their federations to create sex eligibility standards.

It said there will be mandatory testing for all boxers from July 1 to “ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field for men and women.”

The governing body announced all athletes over 18 years old in its competitions must undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) genetic test to determine their sex at birth. The PCR test detects chromosomal material through a mouth swab, saliva or blood.

If an athlete intending to compete in the women’s categories is determined to have male chromosomal material, “initial screenings will be referred to independent clinical specialists for genetic screening, hormonal profiles, anatomical examination or other valuation of endocrine profiles by medical specialists,” World Boxing said. The policy also includes an appeals process.

Khelif plans to defend her gold medal at the LA Games, but some boxers and their federations have already spoken out against her inclusion.

She had intended to return to international competition this month in the Eindhoven Box Cup in the Netherlands.

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James Robson, The Associated Press