The case of the controversial Algerian boxer who won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics has taken another turn with a report that claims Imane Khelif not only has male XY chromosomes but also internal testes and a "micropenis."
Khelif became the focus of controversy in August during the Paris Olympics after the International Boxing Association had barred the boxer from competing in its sanctioned fights due to medical tests that the group says showed Khelif was biologically a male. However, Olympic officials refused to abide by the IBA's ruling and allowed Khelif to fight as a woman. Consequently, Khelif thoroughly and easily beat every female opponent to win gold in boxing.
But now, a report on Khelif's biological status reportedly assembled by the Kremlin-Bicêtre hospital in Paris, France, and the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine hospital in Algiers, Algeria, reveals that the IBA may have been correct in its ruling that Khelif is a male.
The report claims that Khelif suffers from a 5-alpha reductase deficiency, a sexual organ disorder that is only found in males, according to Reduxx.
A baby suffering from the disorder appears to have genitalia that can be mistaken for a vaginal pouch, but when puberty comes, the child begins to show male qualities like hair growth, growth in muscle mass, an absence of any breast tissue, and later a lack of any menstrual activity.
Many children born with this syndrome imagine they are females in the early part of their life, especially if not properly diagnosed.
The report on Khelif adds that he has internal testes and a "micropenis." It also adds he has no uterus or breast tissue. It also finds that Khelif has XY karyotype chromosomes and testosterone at typical male levels. The test further suggests that Khleiff's parents may have been blood relatives.
The report does add that the boxer should probably undergo "surgical correction and hormone therapy" to align the patient to any self-perceived gender identity. The report recommends psychological support because the physical conditions have likely had a "very significant neuropsychiatric impact."
During the Olympics, Khelif's coach, Georges Cazorla, confirmed that the boxer had been given a chromosome test at the Kremlin-Bicêtre Hospital in 2023 before the IBA disqualified Khelif from boxing.
Cazorla also confirmed that the boxer had been placed on testosterone suppressants after the testing in 2023.