“Strip her off the Olympic medal” — Rights group on Imane Khelif

Gender controversy continues to plague Olympic medalist Imane Khelif.

The Olympic boxing victory of Algeria’s Imane Khelif has ignited a fresh storm after a controversial report alleged Khelif’s biological sex may not align with eligibility requirements, sparking a heated debate about gender in competitive sports.

Imane Khelif, alongside Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, faced scrutiny after both failed gender eligibility tests at last year’s World Championships but were later cleared to compete in the Olympics by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The Independent Council on Women’s Sport (ICONS) has now demanded that Khelif’s gold medal be revoked.

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“The medal and all awards should be taken away and given to the best-performing female athlete,” ICONS co-founder Kim Jones told BILD, calling for accountability from both IOC officials and the Algerian team for “putting women at serious risk.”

Fueling the controversy, a recent report alleged Imane Khelif possesses “male characteristics” and an XY chromosome profile. The report, purportedly authored by endocrinologists from France’s Kremlin-Bicetre Hospital and Algeria’s Mohamed Lamine Debaghine Hospital, has yet to be verified.

However, one of the alleged authors, Jacques Young, disputed the claims, telling DW that his name was being used without consent in “false information” intended to undermine Khelif.

Algeria’s Olympic Committee has condemned the controversy as “baseless attacks” aimed at diminishing Khelif’s achievements.

The IOC, maintaining a careful stance, has declined to comment on the unconfirmed allegations, stressing that it does not engage with “unverified documents whose origin cannot be confirmed.”