Celebrity
Imane Khelif Retains Olympic Gold Amid Gender Controversy; No Official Stripping Of Medal
In the past, two Olympic boxers have had their medals revoked because to the scandal surrounding Imane Khelif.
Khelif defeated Yang Liu of China in the final to win the gold medal in the women’s 66kg welterweight division at Paris 2024.
She failed an unidentified test administered by the International Boxing Association (IBA) prior to the 2023 World Championships, raising concerns over her gender eligibility throughout the championship.
Despite being excluded from the race, Khelif had ‘complied with the competition’s eligibility and entry requirements, as well as all applicable medical regulations’ prior to Paris, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Additionally, they called the IBA’s test “not legitimate” and called for the results to be disregarded.
Since then, the Algerian Boxing Association has received a letter from World Boxing, the new amateur boxing regulating body following the IBA’s suspension, stating that Khelif must submit to DNA testing prior to participating in their approved competitions.
Khelif is essentially prohibited from competing until she completes the exams, even though the organisation later expressed regret for mentioning her in the letter.
In an interview with Sky Sports, the Olympic champion’s father acknowledged that she was born and raised as a girl.
Even though Khelif was qualified to compete according to IOC regulations, IBA chairman Umar Kremlev has urged her to surrender her gold.
Olympic boxers have had their medals revoked before, but under quite different circumstances than this one.
After winning the men’s 52kg flyweight title in 2016, Russian boxer Misha Aloian tested positive for the illegal stimulant tuaminoheptane.
He lost to Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan and took home a silver medal, but in December of that year, his medal was revoked because of his positive test.
Additionally, two medals that American boxer Jack Egan had earned at the 1904 Games—a silver and a bronze—were taken away from him in 1905.
Although Egan competed at the Olympics using his alias, his true name was Frank Floyd.
He would have been considered a “ringer” at the time, competing on behalf of another fighter, which was against the regulations of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).
He was eliminated from both of his medal-winning events in November 1905, despite the fact that such incidents were increasingly frequent in the early 20th century since many wealthy people did not wish to be totally identified with sports.
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