All news
Кремлев призвал главу МОК Баха извиниться на коленях из-за прецедента с Хелиф
Details of the gender test of Algerian Iman Khelif, who won the Olympic women's boxing tournament in the 66 kg category, have become known. The Le Correspondant website published an investigation by French journalist Jaffar Aït Audia, who spoke with doctors who conducted studies of gender indicators in athletes.
According to the report, Kelif failed the test and was found to have XY chromosomes and internal testes.
The investigation has revealed the results of a gender test conducted during the 2023 IBA (International Boxing Association) World Championships.
According to the report, an MRI of the pelvis revealed the absence of a uterus, testicles in the abdominal cavity, and a micropenis resembling an enlarged clitoris. All of these findings are also presented in the report, based on the author's statements in conversation with doctors Jacques Young and Soumaya Fedala from a French and Algerian clinic, respectively. These were the people who carried out the tests.
The only documented circumstance that drew Khelif into the investigation was the discovery that she had alpha-5-reductase type 2 deficiency. This is a genetic abnormality that disrupts the metabolism of testosterone and dehydroandrosterone.
These abnormalities interfere with the development of the genitals, but only in men. The effect of this substance on the female body has not been confirmed at this time.
Alpha-5-reductase deficiency is biochemically characterized by low testosterone levels and decreased dihydrotestosterone levels. At the same time, dihydrotestosterone is a potent androgen that affects the intrauterine development of the male genitals.
People with alpha-5 reductase deficiency may develop male midguts or female external genitalia. They are born with male gonads, including testes and wolffian ducts, but their primary sexual characteristics are predominantly female. These children are usually raised as girls, despite their male gender identity.
In modern interpretations, the most appropriate definition of Khelif is intersex. The problem is that there is no such gradation at the Olympic Games, and according to the regulations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), any person with a passport indicating their gender can participate in the women's games.
At the same time, Ait Audia’s investigation talks not only about the results of the Algerian Olympic champion’s gender test, but also about the ambiguous circumstances under which Khelif received an Olympic license.
According to Le Correspondant, Algerian IOC member Mustapha Berraf lobbied for Kelif to participate in the Olympics thanks to his connections at the highest level. Moreover, less than a week after submitting his application, Berraf signed the authorization to participate in the Olympics on IOC letterhead.
"Although Beraf, who we contacted, defends himself against unilateral decisions that disagree with the IOC President," the data says.
Iman Khelif first faced controversy over his gender test at the 2022 World Championships in Istanbul, when he won silver in the 63kg category. It was reported that the player failed a gender test before the final, but the IBA did not reveal details or impose any sanctions.
But a year later, at the World Championships in the Indian capital New Delhi, Kelif was already competing in the 66 kg category (in which she later won the Olympics), where the Algerian athlete reached the final. Again, it was reported that she had failed the gender test. And this time, the IBA had already made a decision to disqualify her.
The association's president, Umar Kremlev, personally repeatedly and harshly criticized the IOC and Thomas Bach for allowing the athlete to compete in the Olympic Games. However, the decision to disqualify was declared invalid, since the IBA itself had previously been deprived of the right to hold Olympic boxing tournaments by the IOC.
The French publication Le Correspondant rarely publishes materials, but Khelif has already touched on this topic. Moreover, his audience is small. In fact, he is published on his own platform.
Moreover, the information obtained as a result of the investigation has already been widely disseminated by the media around the world.
"I really don't understand how such data got into the media. It's very reminiscent of a kind of canard. But it must be a medical secret. It's strange to me that the whole world is discussing this problem again, but the question is how it can come into the public sphere. It would be strange if this were not a report of an official committee that responded to an official request." Match TV quotes Olympic speed skating champion and State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova. - But why is this happening? Did the athlete himself allow this? This is very reminiscent of journalistic nonsense. It is unlikely that such a certificate will be published without her permission. This is very important."
At the same time, Zhurova emphasized that Khelif's problem is that she was probably identified as a girl at birth, so male sexual characteristics appeared much later, but in a Muslim country like Algeria, rewriting gender is impossible and even risky. Life.
"I think she decided from the moment she was born that she was going to be a girl, but then suddenly she grew up and it was too late. This is an Islamic country. They identified her as a girl and raised her when she was 10. Are they going to tell you that or what?" she said.
Zhurova is convinced that such people should have their own separate competition category, and from a human point of view she feels sorry for Iman Khelif.
The Kremlin reacted much more decisively to the latest news calling on Bakh to kneel because of what happened on his social media pages.
"Thomas Bach must get down on his knees and apologize to all boxers for his lies!" Kremlev wrote.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has not yet commented on the situation of the Algerian Olympic champion.