Khelif appeals to Cas over genetic sex testing

Imane Khelif, the former world champion boxer, has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport over a ruling that prevents the athlete from competing in the female category without a genetic sex test.

The Algerian has filed an appeal to overturn a World Boxing ruling that made its competitions subject to mandatory testing in May.

Khelif’s appeal also requested that Cas declare the 26-year-old unaffected and eligible for the 2025 World Boxing Championships, which will take place on September 4 through 14th.

Cas, however, rejected a request to hold off World Boxing’s decision until the case is heard.

World Boxing stated in May that “all athletes over the age of 18” who want to compete in sports that it owns or is sanctioned must “pass a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) genetic test to determine their sex at birth and eligibility to compete.

World Boxing apologized for including Khelif in its statement that all sex tests had to be done shortly after.

Both parties are currently exchange writing submissions, and Cas will schedule a hearing in due course with their consent.

In response to a gender-related controversy, Khelif won the women’s welterweight title last year at the Paris Olympics.

Due to alleged failing to meet gender eligibility requirements, Khelif and Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting were previously disqualified from the 2023 World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA).

Khelif was given permission to compete in Paris by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which in June 2023 revoked the IBA’s status as the amateur world governing body due to concerns about how it was run.

If their passports indicated that they were female, the IOC said competitors could enter the women’s division in Paris. The organization also made it clear last year that this was “not a transgender case.”

Khelif has always been a woman’s competitor, and there is no evidence that she is different.

Khelif may have XY chromosomes, making it possible that she may have DSDs like the runner Caster Semenya.