Two Olympic boxers have previously lost their medals due to the controversy surrounding Imane Khelif.
Khelif claimed gold in the women’s 66kg welterweight division at the Paris 2024 Olympics after defeating China’s Yang Liu in the final.
However, her victory came under scrutiny after she failed an undisclosed test conducted by the International Boxing Association (IBA) before the 2023 World Championships, which sparked questions about her gender eligibility during that event.
Despite her earlier exclusion, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated that Khelif had met all eligibility, entry, and medical requirements for the Paris Games.
The IOC also dismissed the IBA’s testing, labeling it “not legitimate” and urged that its results be ignored.
Meanwhile, World Boxing—the new governing body for amateur boxing following the IBA’s suspension—has reportedly sent a letter to the Algerian Boxing Association, requiring Khelif to undergo DNA testing before competing in any of their sanctioned events.
Khelif is effectively barred from competing until she undergoes the required tests, even though the organization later apologized for directly naming her in its communication.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Khelif’s father affirmed that she was born and raised as a girl.
Despite meeting the IOC’s eligibility standards, IBA president Umar Kremlev has publicly called on Khelif to relinquish her gold medal.
While Olympic boxers have had medals stripped in the past, Khelif’s situation is markedly different from previous cases.
Source: Wikipedia
In 2016, Russian boxer Misha Aloian was stripped of his silver medal in the men’s 52kg flyweight division after testing positive for the banned stimulant tuaminoheptane. Aloian had lost the final to Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zoirov, but the positive test led to the revocation of his medal later that year.
Another case dates back to 1905, when American boxer Jack Egan was stripped of both a silver and a bronze medal he had won at the 1904 Olympics. Egan competed under an alias—his real name was Frank Floyd—which violated the Amateur Athletic Union’s rules. At the time, such practices were not uncommon, especially among upper-class athletes who wished to remain anonymous in the sporting world. Nonetheless, Egan’s medals were officially rescinded in November 1905.
