FACT CHECK: Participation of Olympic Boxer Imane Khelif

GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, and InterACT, which works to empower intersex youth and advance the rights of all people with innate variations in their physical sex characteristics through advocacy, public engagement and community connection, are releasing a fact sheet to encourage accurate and inclusive coverage of the Olympic games and the athletes participating.

Imane Khelif, an Olympic boxer from Algeria, won her first boxing match of the 2024 Paris Olympics against Angela Carini from Italy. Khelif’s victory drew transphobia and misinformation about the competition and her eligibility, including from high profile, longtime critics of transgender people. 

Media and journalists covering the Olympics are encouraged to include the following facts and context, attributable to GLAAD, interACT and Athlete Ally:

• Imane Khelif is a woman. 
• Imane Khelif is not transgender and does not identify as intersex. 
• Imane Khelif reportedly has a variation in her sex traits, also known as differences of sexual development (DSDs), which are a group of conditions involving genes, hormones and reproductive organs. According to the NIH, some people with DSDs are raised as female but may have sex chromosomes other than XX, or elevated testosterone levels.
• Athletes with variations in their sex traits, or DSDs, are not the same as transgender athletes. Conflating the two is inaccurate.
• Imane Khelif has followed eligibility requirements set forth by the International Olympic Committee to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. IOC spokesperson Mark Adams stated: “Everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules.”
• Imane Khelif participated in the 2021 Toyko Olympics and multiple other women’s tournaments. She was disqualified from the 2023 International Boxing Association (IBA) championship due to an unspecified gender eligibility test, which has different eligibility criteria than the IOC. The IBA has since been decertified as the governing international body of boxing.
• Lin Yu-ting, also an Olympic boxer receiving backlash, was similarly disqualified from the IBA championship last year for an unspecified gender eligibility test. Yu-ting also competed in the 2021 Olympics and met all criteria.
• The Olympic Charter states that access to sport is a human right. 
• The IOC affirms the need for inclusivity and non-discrimination to be paramount. Athletes who are able to compete, following all eligibility criteria, deserve to be safe, welcome and included in sports. 
• Transgender and intersex athletes have been a part of global sports since at least the 1930s.
• The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced last month that for the first time in history, the Paris Games will feature full gender parity on the Olympic fields of play. Transgender inclusion has had no negative effect on participation and parity at the Olympics, or any other level of participation. This fact mirrors research on transgender participation showing U.S. states with inclusive policies have more girls and women participating in sports than states with bans.
• Reporters must note the (IOC) released guidelines more than two years ago to support transgender participation, written in consult with medical, athletic and human rights professionals, stating there should be “NO PRESUMED ADVANTAGE BASED ON SEX ASSIGNED AT BIRTH OR SEX CHARACTERISTICS.”
• IOC recommendations additionally include guiding principles for all sport federations to follow, encouraging:
  • Inclusion of athletes of all gender identities;
  • Use of an evidence-based approach in constructing rules;
  • Preventing athletes from undergoing unnecessary procedures or treatments to be eligible.
• Nearly 200 out LGBTQ athletes from around the world are competing at the Paris 2024 Games.
• The IOC released a media guide that includes guidance on reporting on transgender and nonbinary athletes. The Olympic Broadcast Services has also committed to covering all athletes and gender identities accurately, fairly and inclusively, and has committed to parity in its broadcast production. For Paris 2024, this includes hiring approximately 35 female commentators and ensuring balanced gender representation among senior staff and venue production teams.

From interACT Executive Director Erika Lorshbough (they/she): 

“We stand for the right of all women to participate in athletics, including those born with variations in their sex traits such as chromosomal or hormonal variations. It is disappointing to see hate in response to competition taking place at the Olympics, which should be a joyous celebration of high-level athletic skill. Commentary misconstruing elite-level competition between women athletes as violence is shameful. All women should be able to participate in their sports free from discrimination and exclusion that is antithetical to the spirit of sport itself.”

From GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis (she/her):

“Imane Khelif’s win at the Paris 2024 Games should be a triumph for her and her home country, but it’s unfortunately been clouded by baseless transphobia, misinformation and hate. Imane is not transgender and does not identify as intersex. Here are the facts: The Paris 2024 Games are the most inclusive ever and feature the most out LGBTQ olympians competing. This includes several athletes who don’t fit gender expectations, who all comply with competition eligibility rules set by the IOC. All Olympians should be able to compete free of discrimination and should be celebrated for their achievements in sport.”

To ensure comprehensive and fair coverage of LGBTQ olympians, GLAAD’s 2024 Olympics and Paralympic Guide was created in collaboration with Athlete Ally and Pride House France, and produced by the GLAAD Media Institute, GLAAD’s training, research and consulting division. Learn more at GLAAD.org/Institute and support GLAAD’s work here.