Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif, a recurring target of accusations about her gender, revealed that she had used hormonal treatment to lower her testosterone levels before the J0-2024, while reaffirming that she was not “a trans”, in an interview with L’Équipe.
“I have female hormones. And people don’t know it, but I took hormonal treatments to lower my testosterone levels for competitions,” said the 26-year-old Algerian.
Confirming that she possesses the SRY gene, located on the Y chromosome, an indicator of masculinity – “Yes and it’s natural” – Khelif explained “being surrounded by doctors, a teacher follows me (…) For the qualifying tournament for the Paris Games, which took place in Dakar, I lowered my testosterone level to zero”.
“And I won the gold medal” in the -66 kg category, recalled the woman who then found herself at the heart of a huge global controversy and was the target of attacks and a disinformation campaign, presenting her as a “man fighting women”.
Like the Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting, also crowned in the -57 kg category at the Paris Games, Khelif had been accused of being a transgender athlete, by several personalities including Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the British novelist JK Rowling.
“I respect everyone, and I respect Trump. Because he is the president of the United States. But he can’t bend the truth. I’m not a trans, I’m a girl. I was raised as a girl, I grew up as a girl, the people of my village always knew me as a girl,” insisted Imane Khelif.
The boxer, who aims to participate in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, knows that to do so she will have to consent to a genetic test imposed by World Boxing, a body recognized by the IOC, and said she is ready.
“For the next Games, if I have to take a test, I will submit to it. I have no problem with that. I have already done this test. I contacted World Boxing, sent them my medical records, my hormone tests, everything. But I got no response. I am not hiding, I am not refusing tests,” she assured.
