The International Olympic Committee has announced that Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics despite a heated debate over her gender eligibility, is pursuing legal action concerning media reports that allegedly disclosed her confidential medical information.
French media reports this week asserted that the 25-year-old athlete has XY chromosomes. Khelif’s victory in the women’s welterweight division at the recent Games was marked by controversy, following her disqualification from last year’s world championships by the International Boxing Association for not meeting its gender eligibility standards.
Misleading Claims About Imane Khelif’s Medical Records Fuel Online Misinformation
On October 25, 2024, “Le Correspondant” revealed that it had obtained a copy of the medical records of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, claiming they showed that the athlete was “not a ‘normal’ woman.”
According to the French outlet, the report showed that Ms. Khelif had a difference of sexual development (DSD), the medical term to what is commonly known as intersex variations.
Khelif won a gold medal last August at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the women’s 66-kg category. Her achievement was mired in political controversy, as two sport governing bodies feuded over her eligibility to compete.
Many already suspected that Ms. Khelif had a DSD, which does not disqualify her from competing in women’s boxing at the Olympics.
For boxing, the International Olympic Committee, which regulates the Olympics, relies on an athlete’s passport to determine their gender and age. This rule has been put in place post-2016 Rio Olympics.
The news of the alleged reveal of Ms. Khelif’s medical reports went unnoticed for more than a week. They finally gained traction on 4 November, when anti-trans website “Reduxx” reshared the story, claiming it proved Ms. Khelif was “male.”
From there, the claim got reshared widely within online rightwing circles. British media personalist Piers Morgan claimed that the reporting confirmed that Ms. Khelif is “a biological male,” and that she should be stripped of her medal.
Misbar looked into the claims made by “Le Correspondant,” and found some inaccuracies.
Inaccurate Reporting on Khelif’s Gender
Prior to the article on October 25 , “Le Correspondant” had published a similar piece based on the same excerpts from the alleged medical report, on September 8. Both versions of the same story contained multiple inaccuracies.
For example, the September piece stated that a certain Dr. Rosalina Valcárcel from the International Boxing Association (IBA) confirmed Khelif’s “diagnosis” in Miami in August 2024.
Misbar was not able to find any Dr. Valcárcel at the IBA. Instead, we tracked down a video recording of an interview from August 14, featuring Dr. Rosalina Valcárcel, a pediatrician from Puerto Rico who has trained as a doctor at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
In it, Dr. Valcárcel is speaking on a podcast for Puerto Rico-based World Boxing Organisation, a different boxing body than the IBA, following Khelif’s victory at the Olympics. It is not clear from the conversation on what basis Dr. Valcárcel was able to provide her input on the specifics of Ms. Khelif’s medical case, despite her 33 years of expertise as a medical doctor.
The September piece later mentions another individual from the IBA, Bouali El Kadhem, who allegedly attempted to prevent Ms. Khelif from participating at the 2023 Arab games, organised in Algeria in July of that year.
Misbar was also not able to determine whether anyone with the given name of El Kadhem was associated with the IBA at the time. Our email to the IBA’s communications team did not receive a reply in time of publication.
However, the boxing event at the 2023 Arab games was organized by the Algerian Federation of boxing. Ms. Khelif competed at the event, taking gold in the women’s 66 kg category.
Additionally, by that point, the IBA had already banned Ms. Khelif from its competitions. It is therefore not clear what authority a representative of the organization would have to determine who could participate at the 2023 Arab games.
Unattributed Edits, Misreported Names, and Claims of Anti-Trans Agenda Fuel Controversy
The September piece also mentions the names of the authors of the alleged medical report: professors Soumaya Fedad et David Joung.
The names of these two individuals would then change in the new version of the article, referring to them as Soumaya Fedala et Jacques Young. The September version of the article was also deleted.
Misbar reached out to Dr. Jacques Young. The head of communication at the hospital where he works replied, stating that “[the hospital] does not provide any information covered by physician-patient privilege and, in particular, does not specify whether an individual is a patient at the hospital”.
This is the same response that German news outlet Deutsche Welle received. The outlet was however able to speak with Dr. Young, who suggested to them that his name was potentially being used to spread false information and an anti-trans agenda.
Another inconsistency shows up in the spelling of the name of the head of the Algerian Federation of boxing. The name “Ferhat Fezal” becomes “Ferhat Fazil.”
None of these corrections come with any correction notices or updates.
When we asked about the absence of correction, the author of the piece suggested that the changes were minimal, and did not warrant a note. He pointed at another article that eventually contained four separate corrections. “In that case, the corrections impacted the substance of the article,” he explained.
Misbar reached out to representatives of Ms. Khelif for comment. Our email and calls to Nabil Bouri, the athlete’s lawyer in France, went unanswered. Ms. Khelif’s coach, Mohamed Chaoua, told Misbar that he just could not understand why she had been the target of so much hatred.
“She is just an athlete from a poor background,” he said. The harassment she is subject to is “because she is Algerian and Muslim, to be specific,” he added.
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