Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif says she is willing to undergo genetic sex testing to compete in the Olympics should the International Olympic Committee (IOC) require it. 

“Of course, I would accept doing anything I’m required to do to participate in competitions,” the 26-year-old cisgender Algerian boxing champion told CNN this week, stipulating that she would only submit to testing by the IOC.

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According to CNN, Khelif’s statement marks the first time she has publicly addressed the possibility of having to submit to genetic testing since World Boxing, the international governing body for amateur boxing, specifically named her in its announcement of a new policy requiring all athletes to undergo mandatory sex testing. 

Khelif was thrust into a media firestorm following her gold medal win at the 2024 Paris Olympic games, with figures like Elon Musk and J.K. Rowling falsely labeling her as transgender. (She sued them in response.)

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The International Boxing Association (IBA) had previously disqualified Khelif and Taiwanese gold medalist Lin Yu-ting from its 2023 World Championships, claiming they had failed sex eligibility tests. As The Athletic notes, the IOC invalidated the IBA’s authority ahead of the 2024 Paris Games, allowing Khelif and Lin to compete.

Khelif told CNN and French sports outlet L’Equipe this week that she has been reducing her naturally high levels of testosterone under medical supervision since before the 2024 Paris games qualifying tournament. 

In its May 2025 press release, World Boxing explicitly cited the controversy around Khelif’s 2024 win and said that it had informed the Algerian Boxing Federation that Khelif was banned from participating in the female category in World Boxing events until she agreed to undergo sex testing. 

“When they published my name, they caused another crisis for me. They caused more discourse and another campaign against me,” Khelif told CNN, adding that she believes racist political pressure from the far-right influenced World Boxing’s decision. 

In September, Khelif challenged World Boxing’s policy with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The court rejected Khelif’s request to temporarily lift the ban while her case proceeds, and a hearing on the case is still pending, according to The Athletic. 

As CNN notes, the IOC ended genetic testing requirements, which critics say hold female athletes to narrow biological standards and disproportionately affect women of color, nearly 30 years ago. But current IOC president Kristy Coventry has promised to work alongside President Donald Trump to look at “the transgender issue” following his February 2025 executive order in which he promised to pressure the IOC into banning trans athletes from participating in women’s competitions.

In November, sources told The Guardian that the IOC appeared likely to ban trans women from women’s competitions ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. According to CNN, Coventry has not ruled out a return to mandatory genetic testing for female athletes. 

Khelif told CNN that she respects the IOC’s authority. “They should protect women, but they need to pay attention that while protecting women, they shouldn’t hurt other women,” she said. 

As CNN notes, Trump, who named himself chair of a White House Task Force on the 2028 Summer Olympics in August, has continued to cite Khelif’s gold medal win in his efforts to ban trans women from women’s sports. During a speech last month, he falsely claimed that Khelif is a “young gentleman who transitioned.” 

“I’m not transgender. I’m a woman. I want to live my life,” Khelif told CNN. “Please do not exploit me in your political agendas.”

While she admitted that being thrust into an international culture war around gender and sports following the 2024 Olympics cause “psychological trauma” for her and her family, Khelif insisted, “I am still here. I am still fighting. I am still boxing.”

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