A powerful punch on the nose. That’s all Algerian boxer Imane Khelif needed to bring Italian boxer Angela Carini to her knees in their first-round match at the Paris Olympics. Little did Khelif know that instead of praise and applause for the win, she would face outrage and condemnation, sparking widespread controversy.

Carini cried after the defeat, which lasted only 46 seconds, as she withdrew from the bout after being hit. “I went to the ring to honor my father. I was told a lot of times that I was a warrior, but I preferred to stop for my health. I have never felt a punch like this,” Carini stated tearfully in a media interview. This emotional response ignited a massive public outcry.

The backlash was led by popular figures like Elon Musk and J.K. Rowling, resulting in a vicious online crusade against Khelif, who had just achieved her first Olympic victory. But what caused this uproar?

Imane Khelif was disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) from the Women’s World Boxing Championship last year due to high testosterone levels and failing the IBA’s gender eligibility tests. Before the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) conducted its own series of tests and, as a result, allowed her to compete in the women’s category at the Olympics.

Since then, the IBA and the public have claimed that Imane Khelif is a biological male who should not have been allowed to compete in the women’s category at this year’s Summer Olympics. However, there is more to the story than meets the eye. Ignoring the usual social media trends, let’s explore the new developments that shed light on Imane Khelif beyond the prejudices being spread online.

What is Swyer Syndrome, the Condition Imane Khelif Allegedly Suffers From?

It must be noted that Imane Khelif has never identified as biologically male, transgender, or intersex, and has always participated in various international competitions as a woman. The IBA’s gender eligibility tests last year concluded that Khelif is not a woman since she has an XY chromosomal pair, which is typically present in biological males. However, this is just the beginning of the story, not the end.

Reports now indicate that Imane Khelif suffers from a rare genetic condition called Swyer Syndrome or XY gonadal dysgenesis. According to Osmosis.org, individuals with this condition have “a rare congenital disorder of sex development.”

To put it simply, there is a disconnection between a person’s genetic makeup and their reproductive organs in some cases. A person might have an XY (male) genetic makeup but develop a female reproductive system, including a vagina, uterus, and fallopian tubes.

Conversely, an individual with an XX (female) chromosomal pairing might develop a male reproductive system. According to the National Institutes of Health, this rare condition is caused by mutations in genes involved in the sexual development of a fetus. The disorder is also reflected in the overall physical appearance of an individual.

Moreover, individuals with Swyer syndrome may develop a vagina and uterus but do not have corresponding sex glands, known as ovaries. Therefore, they are typically infertile and do not undergo puberty due to the improper secretion of sex hormones like estrogen and progesterone.

This is one reason why the IOC decided to disregard the IBA’s findings and allowed Imane Khelif to compete in the women’s category at the Olympics, just as she did in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The IOC stands firmly behind the Algerian boxer, asserting that Khelif complied with entry regulations and has been “competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category.”

Furthermore, the Algerian Olympic Committee condemned “the unethical targeting and maligning” of Khelif in light of the backlash she is receiving on social media. Considering these new developments, Imane Khelif’s disqualification from last year’s international competition might make more sense.

Why Was Imane Khelif Disqualified from the World Championships?

Khelif was banned from the 2023 Women’s World Boxing Championship after she failed to meet the gender eligibility criteria and had high testosterone levels. The IBA previously stated that Khelif, along with Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, failed DNA tests, revealing an XY (male) chromosomal pairing.

“Based on DNA tests, we identified a number of athletes who tried to trick their colleagues by posing as women. According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have XY (male) chromosomes. Such athletes were excluded from competition,” IBA President Umar Kremlev told Russia’s Tass news agency.

This disagreement has put the IBA and IOC at loggerheads. Doubling down on their previous findings, and responding to the IOC’s accusation of making an “arbitrary decision” against the athletes, the IBA stated that the disqualification was based on two trustworthy tests conducted on both athletes by two independent laboratories during the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi in 2023 and Istanbul in 2022.

The Role of Scientific Community and Flawed Information

The controversy is further complicated by the ongoing debate about whether athletes with high testosterone levels should be barred from competing as females. A significant development in this debate occurred in 2019 when the University of Colorado, Boulder, challenged the validity of a 2017 study by World Athletics (then IAAF). Based on that study, World Athletics announced new regulations in April 2018, requiring certain female athletes with naturally high testosterone levels to take testosterone-lowering hormones to compete in the women’s category for specific track events.

However, in 2019, a team at UC Boulder, led by Roger Pielke Jr., published a paper in The International Sports Law Journal declaring the 2017 study’s results as “fatally flawed.” They found that 17 to 32 percent of the data used in the study was faulty.

“Any agency, in sport or beyond, should be expected to produce science that can withstand scrutiny and which actually supports the justification for proposed regulations. That simply did not happen here,” Pielke had said.

These developments suggest that much clarity and debate are still needed to settle the matter. Meanwhile, Imane Khelif will progress to the next round to face Hungarian boxer Anna Luca Hamori. Whether the scientific community supports barring athletes with high testosterone levels from competing as females remains to be seen.