Khelif willing to take sex test for 2028 Olympics

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif says she would take a sex test if it allowed her to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Khelif, who won women’s welterweight gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, has since faced scrutiny over her gender eligibility.

In 2023, she and Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting were disqualified from the World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) for allegedly failing gender eligibility tests.

Khelif spoke to CNN on Wednesday, saying she had “nothing to hide” and would comply with testing requirements if conducted by the IOC.

“Of course, I would accept doing anything I’m required to do to participate in competitions,” she said.

“They should protect women, but they need to pay attention that while protecting women, they shouldn’t hurt other women.”

Khelif, 26, has always fought in women’s categories. “I’m not transgender. I’m a woman,” she told CNN. “I want to live my life. Please do not exploit me in your political agendas.”

US President Donald Trump last year referred to Khelif as a “male boxer” after he had signed an executive order that prevents transgender women from competing in female categories of sports.

A new body, World Boxing, was granted provisional recognition as the sport’s international governing federation by the IOC in February 2025.

It has introduced mandatory genetic tests for athletes to “determine their sex at birth and their eligibility to compete”.

When announcing the change, it cited Khelif – and later apologised for that.

Khelif lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) over World Boxing’s introduction of mandatory tests in August.