Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - An alleged report has claimed that Olympic boxer Imane Khelif is a biological male, sparking calls for the Algerian boxer to be stripped of her gold medal.
Khelif and Taiwan boxer Lin Yu-ting were at
the centre of a 'gender row' controversy at the Olympics after both were
given the green light to compete despite failing gender eligibility tests at
last year's world championships.
However, the issue over Khelif's credibility in winning
women's gold at the Olympics is now making headlines again following an
apparently leaked excerpt from a report, first reported by Bild, that
claims Khelif is a 'biological male' - though it remains unclear whether the
report is legitimate.
The report was initially put together in 2023 via collaboration
between French and Algerian expert endocrinologists working at the
Kremlin-Bicetre hospital in Paris, and the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine hospital in
Algiers.
The unverified report alleges that Khelif has male
characteristics.
Upon hearing the news, Piers Morgan took to X where he
slammed the IOC's decision to let Khelif compete at the Paris Games and
demanded she be stripped of her gold medal.
A fuming Morgan reacted to the report, writing 'Confirmation
of what some of us said at the time: Khelif is a biological man. The gold medal
should now be stripped and awarded to the best actual woman.'
Meanwhile, tennis legend Martina Navratilova also spoke
out on the topic and backed Morgan's claim that Khelif should have her medals
stripped.
In a post on X, she said: 'What we have been saying for
months. And for calling his person a man or at least a male, we got called all
kinds of names and most of all the women this male took medals and wins from.
Just awful'.
Khelif beat Chinese boxer Yang Liu by unanimous
decision to win gold at the Olympics during an eventful run to the medal that
included Italy's Angela Carini being left in tears after struggling with the
power of her opponent.
Khelif has previously insisted she is a biological female
and fumed at reporters after gold medal victory at the Paris Olympics,
stating: 'As for whether I qualify or not, whether I am a woman or not, I
have made many statements in the media.
'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.
'[The critics] are enemies of success, that is what I call
them. And that also gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.'
The outrage surrounding Khelif's participation in the
Olympics, along with that of fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting, sparked outcries of fury
from the author JK Rowling and Elon Musk on social media, while Donald Trump
also taunted the Algerian fighter.
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