“She has male organs”: the report which reopened the debate on the participation of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif in the Olympics

Imane Khelif Algerian boxer, starred in what was perhaps the most controversial moment of the 2024 Olympic Games .

The 25-year-old athlete has captured everyone’s attention not only for his talent in the ring, but also for his accusations he received of being transgender that is, a person whose gender identity does not coincide with that assigned at birth.

The debate intensified further when it was revealed that Khelif had been disqualified from the 2023 Boxing World Cup by the International Boxing Association (IBA), after failing gender eligibility tests. Despite this, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed him to participate in Paris 2024.

Khelif’s defense argued that he suffered from a disease called hyperandrogenism which is characterized by an excess of androgens in the female body.

A few months after winning the gold medal in the 66 kilo category in women’s boxing, Khelif is once again in the eye of the storm. This time, thanks to a medical report made public by a French journalist who claims that the boxer would have male biological characteristics.

The Algerian’s medical file, which dates from June 2023, was established by the Kremlin-Bicêtre Hospital in Paris and the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine Hospital in Algeria and is attributed to endocrinologists Soumaya Fedala and Jacques Young.

The document establishes that Khelif has a alpha 5 reductase deficiency, a genetic anomaly that only affects biological males.

During this condition, it is found that the body does not produce enough dihydrotestosterone, a hormone that plays a key role in the development of the male external genitalia. Deficiency of this hormone affects the formation of male sexual organs before birth and during puberty.

As described by the journalist The Correspondent According to Djaffar Ait Aoudia, who viewed the report, male babies with this genetic condition usually present with a “blind vaginal pouch” at birth due to lack of correct diagnosis, which is why they are sometimes attributed a female sexual identity.

Then, with the onset of puberty, this becomes more evident with the appearance of physical characteristics such as hair growth, greater muscle mass, absence of breast development and menstruation.

The report, drawn up after the athlete underwent several examinations, also states that a pelvic MRI of Khelif showed there were “absence of uterus”, internal testicles, “blind vagina” and a “clitoris”-shaped micropenis . Further tests revealed that the boxer had an XY karyotype and a testosterone level of 14.7, higher than that of women.

After the series of examinations the athlete underwent, the report clarified that although she was “living fully as a woman”, she must undertake a gender transition.

Above, Khelif undergoes “surgical correction” that removes the gonads and “hormonal therapy” to significantly lower his testosterone levels.

Khelif’s participation in Paris 2024 was controversial from the start. It all started on August 1, when the Algerian planned to face the Italian. Angela Carini for the round of 16 in the 66 kilo category.

The fight lasted only 45 seconds, after the Italian took a few blows to the nose and decided to leave the ring. “They never hit me so hard.” » Said Carini in tears.

Soon, Khelif began to be criticized for her gender and her participation in women’s boxing. The event also highlighted the differences between the IBA, excluded from the Olympic scene due to several scandals, and the IOC. And while the IBA claimed that the Algerian should not have competed, the IOC defended her by assuring that “she was born a woman, she was registered as a woman, she grew up as a woman and she competed as a woman.”

Khelif eventually won Olympic gold in women’s boxing after beating Chinese world champion Liu Yang.