Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif, of Algeria, has threatened to sue a French journalist who published leaked unconfirmed medical records claiming Khelif was a biological male. A report in the French magazine Le Correspondant published earlier this month, which has not yet been verified as legitimate, claimed that the 25-year-old boxer possesses "male characteristics" and XY chromosomes. Khelif has denied the allegations and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has repeatedly defended the boxer's right to compete in the women's category.
The report sparked calls for Khelif to be stripped of awards, including her Olympic gold medal won during the recent Paris Olympics games. The boxer defended her stance and refuted the allegations, slamming the journalist during an appearance on the Lo Stato delle Cose show with Massimo Giletti on Italian TV, the Daily Mail reported.
"I didn't know the statements of President Meloni, but I saw that many politicians and presidents speak without any real source," Khelif said. "We will meet with the French journalist in court."
The reference to Italian President Giorgia Meloni related to the controversies that surrounded Khelif while competing in the Paris Olympic Games, specifically that the boxer is allegedly male and should be prohibited from competing against women. The female Italian opponent Khelif faced in the second round, Angela Carini, left the bout 46 seconds in, claiming she "had never felt a punch like this" and suffered an injury to her nose.
The Algerian boxer, who took home the gold medal, went on to discuss her "bullying" experience at the Olympics, saying, "The war against me through social media has had a negative impact."
Expert endocrinologists from France and Algeria who worked at the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine hospital in Algiers and the Kremlin-Bicetre hospital in Paris reportedly collaborated on the leaked, unconfirmed medical study. "These attacks, often based on unsubstantiated allegations, aim to tarnish the image of an athlete who has brought honor to our nation on the international stage," the Algerian Olympic Committee told German media outlet DW in a statement.
The report sparked calls for Khelif to be stripped of awards, including her Olympic gold medal won during the recent Paris Olympics games. The boxer defended her stance and refuted the allegations, slamming the journalist during an appearance on the Lo Stato delle Cose show with Massimo Giletti on Italian TV, the Daily Mail reported.
"I didn't know the statements of President Meloni, but I saw that many politicians and presidents speak without any real source," Khelif said. "We will meet with the French journalist in court."
The reference to Italian President Giorgia Meloni related to the controversies that surrounded Khelif while competing in the Paris Olympic Games, specifically that the boxer is allegedly male and should be prohibited from competing against women. The female Italian opponent Khelif faced in the second round, Angela Carini, left the bout 46 seconds in, claiming she "had never felt a punch like this" and suffered an injury to her nose.
The Algerian boxer, who took home the gold medal, went on to discuss her "bullying" experience at the Olympics, saying, "The war against me through social media has had a negative impact."
Expert endocrinologists from France and Algeria who worked at the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine hospital in Algiers and the Kremlin-Bicetre hospital in Paris reportedly collaborated on the leaked, unconfirmed medical study. "These attacks, often based on unsubstantiated allegations, aim to tarnish the image of an athlete who has brought honor to our nation on the international stage," the Algerian Olympic Committee told German media outlet DW in a statement.
