The Imane Khelif Olympic boxing eligibility debate intensified as the Algerian welterweight champion publicly reaffirmed her intention to defend the gold medal she had won at Paris 2024, despite gender eligibility concerns, bans and mounting international pressure. Against a backdrop of growing controversy around the women’s category in boxing and the wider Olympic movement, Khelif made it clear that she still aimed to return to the ring and fight for more honours.
The issue had resurfaced sharply during the Paris 2024 Games. Khelif competed in the women’s tournament and captured the welterweight title, even though she had previously been excluded from the World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA), which had ruled that she did not pass its gender verification test.
From that moment, the situation in the Olympic ring fuelled an intense global debate about fairness, biology, identity and rights in sport. Khelif, along with Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, became the central figures in a dispute that remained unresolved. Their cases highlighted the complexity of setting eligibility rules for women’s categories, particularly when different governing bodies applied different standards.
Khelif’s message before Los Angeles 2028: determination despite new rules
With her focus set on Los Angeles 2028, the eligibility of Imane Khelif Olympic boxing saga took another turn when she chose to speak through the British tabloid Daily Mail. In that interview, she underlined that she did not intend to walk away from her career, even as new regulations were being drawn up by World Boxing and other authorities.
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“Yes, God willing, I was still determined to achieve another Olympic medal,” stated Khelif, stressing that she remained ambitious to retain the welterweight title she had claimed in Paris. She added that she had been preparing her comeback with plans she had not yet revealed. “I was working on many surprises that I had not yet announced, but God willing, we were on the right track.”
At that stage, Khelif had not competed since World Boxing’s new requirements came into force, leaving her future participation in major events uncertain and keeping the Imane Khelif Olympic boxing eligibility question firmly in the spotlight.
World Boxing’s gender testing rules and Khelif’s legal challenge
This debate deepened after World Boxing, the international federation created in 2023 and recognised by the IOC in February 2025 as the official authority for Olympic boxing, introduced mandatory gender tests for athletes wishing to compete in its tournaments. These rules, brought in during the summer, were seen by Khelif as being aimed directly at her.
“This law issued by the International Boxing Association was specifically for Imane Khelif and not for athletes. They issued this law after the Paris Olympics,” she argued in comments reported by the British outlet. Although she referenced the IBA, the broader effect of the new framework was that her eligibility remained contested across different governing structures.
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif after an interview with SNTV at the 2024 Paris Games on Sunday. (Vadim Ghirda / Associated Press)
Khelif insisted that she had been born and raised as a woman and claimed that the measures adopted after her Olympic triumph not only harmed her personally but also violated legal and sporting principles. Her response to the Imane Khelif Olympic boxing eligibility rules extended beyond public statements: in August, she took her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), seeking a ruling that would allow her to compete without undergoing World Boxing’s controls.
“In the Paris Olympics and after, and even now, I was still being subjected to campaigns, injustice, and new decisions from international federations, but I currently had a case in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and God willing, it would be for the best,” she affirmed.
Fighting inside and outside the ring
For Khelif, the dispute represented a double battle. She told the Daily Mail that she was fighting both inside and outside the ring, framing the regulations as fundamentally unjust.
“Today I was fighting inside and outside the ring, but the law was above all voices, and the decision was fundamentally illogical and contrary to the law,” she said. Her tone remained combative and resolute, asserting her right to continue her career despite constant scrutiny and criticism.
“The dream continued, and the work continued, and as for the campaigns and the people who criticised, I said to them, continue, because I was developing,” she declared, signalling that the controversy would not deter her from training or from targeting another Olympic appearance.
IOC guidance, transgender rules and DSD complexities
Khelif’s eligibility case unfolded within a broader, evolving framework of Olympic policy on gender and sex categories. Under IOC guidance introduced in 2021, transgender women could compete in women’s categories if they met specified testosterone limits. However, responsibility for detailed eligibility rules rested with international federations, leading to a patchwork of regulations across different sports.
Back at Paris 2024, the IOC had backed both Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting, stating that the controversy surrounding them was not related to a transgender issue. Instead, their situations highlighted the challenges of dealing with cases involving Differences in Sexual Development (DSD) and other medical or biological variations.
By late 2025, the IOC, now under the presidency of Kirsty Coventry, was discussing a potential major shift that could impose an absolute ban across all disciplines for the Los Angeles Games. In a statement to Daily Mail Sport, the organisation confirmed that its director of health, medicine and science had given an update to IOC Members during commission meetings, but stressed that the working group was still in discussions and that no final decisions had been taken.
Among the key points in that internal presentation was a clear distinction between transgender athletes and those with DSD, a crucial nuance in a landscape marked by scientific, ethical and legal complexity. For athletes born with variations in sexual development that did not fully align with typical male or female definitions, the regulatory horizon remained particularly uncertain. According to sources cited by the British newspaper, sweeping changes for this group were considered likely, although the proposal faced opposition within the IOC itself.
Kirsty Coventry’s call for patience as debate continued
As the Imane Khelif Olympic boxing eligibility debate and wider questions about women’s categories intensified, IOC President Kirsty Coventry sought to calm speculation. In an interview with Xinhua, she explained that a working group had been set up “to look at the protection of the female category” and stressed that it was “a medically driven, scientific discussion”.
IOC president Coventry on the importance of gender equality. | CGTN Sports Scene
Coventry underlined that experts were still evaluating evidence and potential regulatory scenarios, warning that “some people may be jumping the gun. We needed to allow the experts to finish their work and come back to us with their recommendations.” The IOC indicated that further updates on the framework that would shape cases like the Imane Khelif Olympic boxing eligibility question would be provided “in due course”.
For now, Khelif’s future in the Olympic ring remained tied to the outcome of her CAS case and the direction of IOC and World Boxing policy. Her public stance, however, left no doubt: she still saw herself as a champion, still believed in her right to compete, and still aimed to defend her Paris 2024 gold on the road to Los Angeles 2028.
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