Khelif, Olympic Transgender Boxing, Russian Interference
updated 7aug
This is a bizarre story.
To start, like most sensible people I don’t want men who claim to be women to compete against women at any level of sport where that sport requires strength. However, this story has us all fooled and the Russians are behind it. Read on for the facts…
International Boxing Association (IBA):
The IBA, formerly the AIBA, has increasingly come under Russian control over the last eight years. It is bankrolled by Gazprom, a state-owned Russian oil company, unlike most international sports bodies funded by their member countries. The organization has experienced suspicious judging, leadership changes, and financial fraud.
Gafur Rakhimov:
Rakhimov, an Uzbek businessman, was elected head of the AIBA in 2018. The US has labelled Rakhimov an organized crime boss but he resigned in 2019 after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) instigated actions that eventually led to a suspension of ties with the organization.
Umar Kremlev
Kremlev is the current leader and took over the IBA after Rakhimov’s resignation. He is said to have deep ties to Russian organized crime and heroin trafficking. Kremlev instigated the name change from AIBA to IBA and moved its headquarters and most operations to Russia.
International Olympic Committee (IOC):
The IOC suspended ties with the AIBA (now IBA) in 2023 due to corruption and mismanagement and the inability to meet reforms it initially specified in 2019.
Angela Carini
Carini is the Italian boxer who quit a boxing bout after 46 seconds in Paris 2024 (Welter, 66kg). She is set to receive a $50,000 payment from the IBA (PA News, IBA). That’s the same amount the eventual gold medallist will receive from the IOC, representing considerably more than a year’s salary for the average Italian.
Imane Khelif:
The IBA claimed Khelif earlier failed a gender eligibility test in a previous fight where she beat a Russian boxer, ending that boxer’s unbeaten record. The IBA did not disclose the nature of the test, its results or evidence for their claims. The ruling against Khelif is variously reported to reinstate the undefeated status of a top-ranked Russian prospect whom Khelif had beaten.
Take Out
Khelif may well look masculine and it seems we are guilty of judging this particular book by its cover.
Khelif was born female and does not have XY (male) chromosomes. She is a woman and is not transgender. Even the IBA acknowledge this.
A discredited boxing organisation has made false claims about Khelif either to reinstate a Russian Boxer’s #1 ranking or simply to create mischief for Paris 2024. Don’t forget Russia was banned from Paris 2024 because of its illegal invasion of another sovereign country (Ukraine) and no longer benefits from the prestige of competing at the Olympics and winning events as a country.
If Carini is complicit in this and receives what effectively amounts to a bribe she should receive a lifetime ban rather than our sympathy.
I wanted to put this story out because I don’t like being duped.
For balance:
- IBA States: Blood sample collection was made on 17 May 2022. Sistem Tip Laboratory from Istanbul (License Number: 194-MRK) issued its report on 24 May 2022, after the competition ended. The laboratory detected results that didn’t match the eligibility criteria for IBA women’s events.
- IBA State: At the next IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships 2023 in New Delhi, Khelif and Lin were tested following their consent again before their first fights. Blood sample collection was made on 17 March 2023. Dr Lal PathLabs from New Delhi issued its report on 23 March 2023. The findings were absolutely identical to the first test results.
- IBA States: IBA does not want to comment private life of a person. For IBA it is not a matter how Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting identify themself, and what is written in their passport. IBA’s main concern is that their hormonal imbalance affords them a distinct advantage over their female counterparts within their respective weight categories. It can be dangerous for other female boxers that we have already seen during the Olympic Games. Therefore, she is not eligible to participate in the IBA competitions.
Reader-Powered Content
This content is not sponsored. It’s mostly me behind the labour of love which is this site and I appreciate everyone who follows, subscribes or Buys Me A Coffee ❤️ Alternatively please buy the reviewed product from my partners. Thank you! FTC: Affiliate Disclosure: Links pay commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Sounds as if the writer is suffering from pathological Russophobia. Your opinion is just that, an opinion. No time for this kind of conspiracy theories. Unsubscribing from your newsletter as well.
bye
visit my sister site more regularly the5krunnerski.com for more pro-Russian stuff
@Concerned Suscriber aka russian comrade: exactly, we are not russophobian enough. You still get paid in Rubl for such shit post?
I like your site but this is quite a controversial article. A few comments 1) Wikipedia is not a reliable source. I would not dare claiming something is true based on this source. 2) Khelif declined to answer when asked whether she had undergone tests other than doping tests, saying she didn’t want to talk about it. This is not helping the situation Khelif is in. 3) similar to you I do not know the athlete and can only judge based on what I see hear and read. We will find out sooner or later if Khelif was born with penis or not.
agreed.
it’s just easier to link to Wikipedia. the same info is on numerous other sites if you look.
the article also links to the bbc: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/65987324. I acknowledge the BBC’s persistent mildly left of centre bias
the article also links to AP News: https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-boxing-angela-carini-74a5fc2e6f0134ef354543f751304753
“Khelif was born female and does not have XY (male) chromosomes.” Where did you obtain this information? Thank you.
“For IBA it is not a matter how Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting identify themself, and what is written in their passport. IBA’s main concern is that their hormonal imbalance affords them a distinct advantage over their female counterparts within their respective weight categories. It can be dangerous for other female boxers that we have already seen during the Olympic Games. Therefore, she is not eligible to participate in the IBA competitions.” (IBA Statement)
ie the ineligibilty decision was made on hormonal imbalance not the existence of XY chromosones. I have not seen the IBA deny that Khelife is a woman. I have seen photos, purporting to be Khleif, as a very young girl.
What a clown you are. You’ve slowly oozed your progressive ideology over the past few years. You’re a knucklehead if you actually think this actually helps your site by coming up with idiotic articles like this.
eh?
is what I said progressive: “I don’t want men who claim to be women to compete against women at any level of sport where that sport requires strength.”
the opposite I would have thought.? Although I like to think of my views as commonsensical.
To the comments, be it bots or human, i suspect a mix of both. Stating Russophobia, when there is evidence of tampering in the past from official bodies, athletes and are at least suspected at running a systematic doping and tampering scheme and questioning statements from these officials, that itself contradict themselves, help their cause and every reference to a third party regarding the tests are debunked by the third party itself, is either dumb or evil.
Regarding the article itself, I am also not sure if such an article is the right fit for the target market with technology enthusiasts but in the end, it’s a private website with a private owner where you can post and do whatever you want. I for one like websites with a clear stance on politics or social issues like this. Even rumors are based on opinion if you believe the rumor or not, so why is that different?
To The5KRunner do whatever feels right for you and I can assure you, the silent majority is on your side.
thank you John.
I’m very happy to let everyone have their free speech…unlike those in russia and many other parts of the world.
To the comments, be it bots or human, i suspect a mix of both.
Stating Russophobia, when there is evidence of tampering in the past from official bodies, athletes and are at least suspected at running a systematic doping and tampering scheme and questioning statements from these officials, that itself contradict themselves, help their cause and every reference to a third party regarding the tests are debunked by the third party itself, is either dumb or evil.
Regarding the article itself, I am also not sure if such an article is the right fit for the target market with technology enthusiasts but in the end, it’s a private website with a private owner where you can post and do whatever you want. I for one like websites with a clear stance on politics or social issues like this. Even rumors are based on opinion if you believe the rumor or not, so why is that different?
To The5KRunner do whatever feels right for you and I can assure you, the silent majority is on your side.
thank you again John for your comment
interestingly I use a tool on this site which blocks all traffic from Russia and Belarus. Of course, there are ways around this with VPNs and the like
#sigh
at first five comments.
The IOC suspended relations with in 2023 due not to corruption and poor governance, but specifically for political reasons. Because of the war, of course. For the same reasons, he did not allow Russian athletes to participate in the Olympics. Nevertheless, he has not removed any more countries that are currently fighting wars. Therefore, it is no longer possible to talk about the neutrality of the IOC in relation to any issues. And statements about the involvement of Russians in discrediting this athlete also carry a political motive and are no longer authoritative. The only way out will be the open publication of the dna test so that everyone can draw a conclusion for themselves.
P.S. As a Russian, I am amused by the accusations of us in other people’s fuck ups, I give you official permission, guys. It will relieve your guilt, but it will increase my sense of self-importance.
The issue dates back to 2019 which predates the illegal Russian invasion of sovereign Ukrainian territory.
What DNA test are you talking about? No one knows what kinds of ‘confidential blood tests’ were taken.
You say you are in Russia, yet this site blocks traffic from Russia. Your IP address is from Poland. So you are a Russian who does not want to live in Russia…well done. Keep up the misinformation.
Give me some facts and I’ll admit I’m wrong and/or retract the above info
1) Yes, the main movements were long before the war. But the finale “On 22 June 2023 during an Extraordinary IOC Session, the IOC executive board voted to withdraw its recognition of the IBA—marking the first time an international federation has been expelled from the Olympic movement.” – occurred after the outbreak of war.
2)You must have misunderstood me. I want to say that without the open public disclosure of the DNA test of this athlete, regardless of the confessionality, any discussions on this topic will be either cospirological or politically biased. Confirmation of this is that when you found out that I was Russian, you immediately started talking about my spreading missinformation and went to check my IP address. Although it shouldn’t matter, because ethnic Russians live not only in Russia. And why are you blocking people from Russia on a website dedicated to sports and Tech News? Are you afraid, or are we just unwanted people on your website?
I’m blocking traffic from the entirety of russia because otherwise I get hundred of thousands of hacking attempts.
I am fully aware that many Russians live outside of Russia. The small number of Russians I know are completely nice people.
You agree the proceedings were started before the Ukrainian war. So I can’t see how you jump then to failings of the IBA to comply as being political.
If you read the offical IBA pronouncements on their site, which I have, they clearly have no intentions of releasing the test results and nature of the tests. That would be done by any normally-functioning sports organisation when it bans someone. Even so much as to give the banned athlete recourse to legal action should they want it. Though how anyone could take legal action against a Russian agency in Russia and expect to get a fair hearing is beyond my comprehension. Are you saying the rule of law in Russia is independent of politics and corruption?
The headquarters of this organization is located in Switzerland. The Russian head has been there only since 2020, before that, the leaders were citizens of other countries. Therefore, to claim that this is a “Russian agency” is incorrect neither in fact nor legally. Even Gazprom’s sponsorship, which gave the right to talk about corruption, has already ended. I am not on the side of this organization. I think that
The DNA test should be conducted and made public by third-party agencies independent of this scandal, and these samples should be public. However, I want to explain something to you. You are absolutely right when you say that the rule of law in Russia is something out of a series of fiction. The courts will announce the verdict, which the prosecutor will dictate to them. And the prosecutor will follow the orders of his superiors. However, as practice shows, the same thing happens in all other countries. In this neo-cold war, the IOC is executing someone else’s political decision, spitting on all sporting principles. (I remind you that they have not banned any of the other countries fighting wars). And that is why the decision to revoke the recognition of the IBA was made right now. You probably didn’t notice it, but as a Russian and as an athlete, I felt it for myself. Many two-faced companies, associations and just famous people break official ties with everything where there is even a hint of “Russians”. However, this does not prevent them from doing business and relationships with them under alternative labels and flags. They do this for fear of some reputational costs and just to avoid possible accusations in connection with the Russians. (You easily called the international association the Russian agency, although I have already shown you that this is not the case). It’s kind of what you call a Cancellation Culture. This Cancellation culture allows many people to absolve themselves of responsibility with impunity without fear of condemnation. Did Trump win the election? It was Russian spies who falsified it! Is it possible that an athlete uses a genetic anomaly in his sports career? It’s all corrupt Russian transphobes! (and Italian lol). Is there an exorbitant amount of faeces in the water at triathlon competitions? Oh, maybe it’s disqualified Russian triathletes who took a shit there! That’s exactly why I say that without public DNA analysis, it will all come down to convenient conspiracy theory and politics. You have already been harsh and biased three times on this page, since you saw the word Russian. Because you’re used to it. Because it’s convenient.
I completely agree with your suspicions that Russia has a lot to gain by creating mischief with the Olympics. The MAGA people in the US have been seething at the Greek festival depiction and basically the entirety of the opening ceremony. I fear for Kahlif’s safety when the games are done. Even members of the US Congress have been using Kahlif as election fodder to drum up support. It’s sickening. You know there are some crazies that will want to do her harm to “prove” she’s a man.