Imane Khelif (Algeria) celebrates gold on August 9, 2024. IMAGO / Newscom World

Expert Reveals If Imane Khelif Is At Risk Of Losing Olympic Boxing Gold Medal

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Grant Young | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 1:32 PM ET

A massive piece of news within the boxing community was released last week, when World Boxing announced that they would be mandating athletes who are 18 and older to undergo genetic testing (which will require a cheek swab) if they want to compete in women’s boxing events, starting as soon as this month.

It's no secret that this stems from the backlash regarding Algerian boxer Imane Khelif's inclusion in the Paris 2024 Olympic games. Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in Paris, despite being subject to intense scrutiny regarding her eligibility because her abnormally high testosterone levels made many members of the boxing community (and the mainstream sports and pop culture sphere, given how big this story became) question whether it was fair for her to compete against women.

Now, with this new mandate from World Boxing, some are wondering whether Khelif could get her gold medal from the Paris Games taken away if this new genetic testing doesn't come out in favor of her being eligible to compete against women.

This is a video of Imane Khelif from last year where she expressed her desire to complete in the Olympics boxing and win gold. She just won the finals securing the gold medal and her title as an Olympic champion! pic.twitter.com/9u56BRYRJN
— inqilāb (@tastefullysaucy) August 9, 2024

This question has been addressed by Doraine Lambelet Coleman, a Thomas L. Perkins Distinguished Professor of Laws at Duke Law School, who has a better understanding than most about how this potentially tricky testing situation and verdict will be handled. And she spoke about what she believes will happen with Khelif's medal during a June 3 interview with Newsweek.

"The IOC would not revoke medals won by athletes who were eligible according to the rules it set for the boxing competition in Paris. Unlike the eligibility rules set by the IBA and now WB, those rules did not require competitors to be biologically female," Coleman said.

In other words, because the testing was not part of any mandate during the Paris Games, the fact that it's being instituted now wouldn't have any bearing on Khelif potentially losing her gold medal.

We didn’t give this proper promo at the time. Please give it clicks, even tho it’s in the Mail today. This is the OG.

‘Could Imane Khelif Be Stripped Of Olympic Gold Medal? What To Know’ ⁦@Newsweek⁩ https://t.co/P8XdCtpOCf
— SEEN in Journalism (@JournalismSEEN) June 5, 2025

While this verdict seems to make sense, that doesn't mean it won't cause additional controversy around Khelif's success at the Olympic level. However, it could impact her standing at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, where Khelif has gone on record saying she wants to defend her gold medal.

This article first appeared on KO on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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