Imane Khelif, the boxer at the centre of a gender row at the Paris Olympics, has cancelled a planned speaking appearance at the Oxford Union.
Khelif won gold in the women’s welterweight event in Paris this summer, but her participation at the games had been a source of contention.
This came after the Algerian was disqualified from the Women’s World Boxing Championships in 2023 by the International Boxing Associations (IBA) in regards to gender eligibility rules, with the body claiming that she failed a gender eligibility test.
However, Khelif insisted she was a woman and her father even produced her birth certificate which said she was born female.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) repeatedly defended her right to compete throughout the games, while the IBA’s test results and credibility were also called into question.
The Oxford Union – Oxford University’s debating society – had announced in September that Khelif would be among several speakers during the term.
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has cancelled a planned speaking appearance at Oxford Union
The Oxford Arab Society said Khelif’s appearance was cancelled due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’
The Oxford Union is the famous debating society of Oxford University
Khelif had been scheduled to be a guest speaker on Sunday, but the Oxford Arab Society confirmed the boxer’s appearance has now been cancelled.
‘Due to unforeseen circumstances, Imane Khelif is unable to attend the event in collaboration with the Oxford Union and the event has therefore been cancelled,’ a statement read.
‘We apologise for any disappointment and inconvenience to any members who were looking forward to the event.’
Mara Yamauchi, who ran in the Beijing and London 2012 Olympics for Team GB, had published a letter ahead of Khelif’s scheduled appearance.
The former Oxford University student had called upon the Union to invite boxers beaten by Khelif at the Olympics to attend the debate in the letter, addressed to the body’s president.
Yamauchi had also requested five questions be put to Khelif, including why she had withdrawn an appeal over her disqualification from the Women’s World Boxing Championships and whether she provide public evidence to prove she is female.
Another question asked whether Khelif supported South African runner Caster Semenya’s previous participation in the Olympic Games.
Algerian boxer Khelif won Olympic gold in Paris in the women’s welterweight event
Her participation at the Games had been a source of contention, amid a ‘gender eligibility row’
Semenya won gold in the women’s 800m at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics.
The South African was born with differences of sexual development (DSD) and cannot compete in female track events without taking testosterone-reducing drugs under World Athletics rules introduced in 2019.
Semenya has lodged a series of appeals against World Athletics rules.
‘The Oxford Union, as a bastion of free speech, is of course free to invite anyone it wishes,” said Yamauchi’s letter.
‘[It] is an excellent opportunity to hear directly from Khelif. The Union’s slogan is “Celebrating 200 years of free speech”, so I hope you will give sufficient time for these and similar questions and allow for robust scrutiny.
‘Given the very widespread concerns about the loss of fair and safe sports for females, I am sure that many in the audience will be interested in hearing answers to these questions’.
Yamauchi has since stated on X, formerly Twitter, that she had emailed Oxford Union at 4.59pm on Thursday and tweeted five minutes later. Yamauchi said the Oxford Arab Society posted the cancellation of the event at 5.20pm.
Khelif this week had threatened to sue a French journalist who published an unverified leaked medical report about her.
Imane Khelif has threatened to sue a French journalist who published an unverified leaked medical report about her which alleged she had ‘male characteristics’ and XY chromosomes
A report in French magazine Le Correspondant – which is yet to be confirmed as legitimate – alleged that the 25-year-old has ‘male characteristics’ and XY chromosomes, something Khelif has repeatedly denied.
Appearing on the Lo Stato delle Cose show with Massimo Giletti on Italian TV, she said: ‘I didn’t know the statements of President Meloni, but I saw that many politicians and presidents speak without any real source.
‘We will meet with the French journalist in court.’
The reference to Giorgia Meloni, the president of Italy, is also in relation to further controversy that surrounded Khelif in Paris.
Her second round opponent Angela Carini, who is Italian, retired from the fight 46 seconds in, citing pain to her nose and reportedly insisting she ‘had never felt a punch like this’.
The bout with Carini fueled the furore surrounding Khelif after she punched her opponent twice in the opening round.
The blows appeared to knock off the Italian boxer’s chin strap, with the fighter moving over to her corner.
Carini returned to the centre of the ring and abandoned the bout, leading to Khelif being declared as the winner.
Khelif has repeatedly said she is a woman and her father even produced her birth certificate
The Italian boxer, who claimed before the fight that she could ‘only adapt to the rules of the Olympics’, was then seen crying in the centre of the ring following the abrupt conclusion of the bout and refused to shake her opponent’s hand.
She later said: ‘It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment.’
Carini did then apologise for the way she acted and expressed sympathy with Khelif, but Meloni was one of many to voice their concerns over the Algerian’s presence in Paris.
The leaked unverified medical report was said to be a collaboration between French and Algerian expert endocrinologists working at the Kremlin-Bicetre hospital in Paris, and the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine hospital in Algiers.
But Jacques Young, an endocrinologist at Bicetre Hospital in Paris who reportedly co-authored the document, told DW in Germany that he feels his name is being used to spread false information.
In a statement to DW, the Algerian Olympic Committee also said: ‘These attacks, often based on unsubstantiated allegations, aim to tarnish the image of an athlete who has brought honour to our nation on the international stage.
‘We firmly condemn these attempts at destabilization, which have no place in the world of sports.’
The IOC said it will ‘not comment while legal action is ongoing, or on media reports about unverified documents whose origin cannot be confirmed’. It then repeated a statement issued following the controversy at the Paris Olympics.
‘We understand that Imane Khelif has taken legal action against individuals who commented on her situation during the Olympic Games Paris 2024, and is also preparing a lawsuit in response to the latest reporting,’ an IOC spokesperson said.
‘The IOC will not comment while legal action is ongoing, or on media reports about unverified documents whose origin cannot be confirmed.’
The statement pointed out Khelif had been competing in women’s boxing ‘for many years’, including at the previous Games in Tokyo as well as IBA-sanctioned events.
Amid the backlash that Khelif received during the Games, her father gave an emotional statement to Sky Sports.
‘My child is a girl. She was raised as a girl. She’s a strong girl. I raised her to be hard-working and brave. She has a strong will to work and to train,’ he said.
