Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif has said she is willing to undergo a s£x test to be eligible for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, while responding to claims by former US President Donald Trump that she is a “male boxer.”
Khelif, 26, rose to global prominence after winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but her victory at the Games sparked controversy amid claims that she had allegedly failed a gender eligibility test the previous year.
In 2025, World Boxing then confirmed that fighters would be required to undergo mandatory sex screening to compete in their events, singling out Khelif when making the announcement, which the governing body later apologised for.
Khelif has not competed since the tests were introduced, taking her fight to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a bid to compete without being tested, for which a hearing is yet to be held.
And while the Algerian fighter said she ‘will not surrender’ in her case against the organisation, she is willing to take a sex test in order to compete at the Olympics in two years’ time.
‘Of course, I would accept doing anything I’m required to do to participate in competitions,’ Khelif told CNN.
‘They should protect women, but they need to pay attention that while protecting women, they shouldn’t hurt other women.’
Last year, Trump signed an executive order entitled ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’. The president referred to Khelif as a ‘male boxer’ who had ‘transitioned’ and ‘stole the women’s gold medal’ by competing in Paris.
The President doubled down on calling Khelif a ‘male’ during a speech to Republican lawmakers in January.
Trump has previously claimed that Khelif is transgender, comments which are incorrect. The boxer was born female but is believed to possess the SRY gene, which is associated with male s£x chromosomes.