Olympic champion Imane Khelif reveals she took hormone therapy to lower testosterone for Paris 2024 but asserts she is not transgender
OLYMPIC boxing champion Imane Khelif has revealed she underwent hormone treatments to lower her testosterone levels ahead of the Paris 2024 Games. In an interview with French sports daily L’Equipe, the 26-year-old Algerian reaffirmed she is not transgender.
Khelif was embroiled in a gender controversy after winning gold in the women’s 66kg category. She confirmed she possesses the SRY gene, located on the Y chromosome that indicates masculinity.
“Yes, and it’s natural,” she said. Khelif added she is monitored by doctors and a professor.
“For the Paris Games qualifying tournament, which took place in Dakar, I lowered my testosterone levels to zero,” she explained.
The controversy also involved Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, another gold medallist, and drew comments from figures like Donald Trump and J.K. Rowling. Khelif stated she respects Trump but challenged his assertions.
“He cannot distort the truth. I am not a trans woman, I am a girl,” she said. “I was raised as a girl, I grew up as a girl, the people in my village have always known me as a girl.”
Khelif aims to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and says she is ready for mandatory gender testing by World Boxing. The body is recognised by the International Olympic Committee.
“For the next Games, if I have to take a test, I will. I have no problem with that,” she stated.
She revealed she has already contacted World Boxing and sent her medical records. “I haven’t had any response. I’m not hiding, I’m not refusing the tests,” Khelif said.
She asserted that doctors should decide, emphasising natural genetic variation. “We all have different genetics, different hormone levels. I’m not transgender. My difference is natural.”
Khelif has not fought since the Paris Games after being barred from a tournament in the Netherlands. World Boxing prevented her participation due to the new chromosome test requirement.
She is now awaiting a French professional boxing licence, calling it “the logical next step”. However, she has not abandoned her Olympic ambitions.
“Not at all. I want to… become the first person in Algerian sport to successfully defend their Olympic title,” Khelif said.
