Make Of It What You Will

"[Khelif] was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport."

"This is not a transgender case."

"[The IOC leaves regulations up to each sport's international governing body because] they know their sport and their discipline the best."

"I hope we all agree that we're not calling for people to go back to the days of sex testing which was a terrible, terrible thing to do. This involves real people and we're talking about real people's lives here."

"Many women can have testosterone which will be called 'male levels' and still be women and still compete as women. This idea that you do one test for testosterone and that sorts everything out? Not the case I'm afraid."

IOC spokesman Mark Adams 

"[The boxer was subjected to a] misogynistic, racist and sexist campaign."

"The unjust harassment suffered by the boxing champion will remain the biggest stain of these Olympic Games."

Imane Khelif's lawyer, Nabil Boudi

Images of the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting on the medal podium in Paris  BBC

"Just looking at the presence of a Y chromosome on its own does not answer the question of whether someone is male or female."

"It’s obviously a very good marker, as most people with a Y chromosome are male…but it’s not a perfect indicator."

"It wouldn’t surprise me if some people with a type of DSD [Differences of sex Development] had some physical advantage over women." 

"[Those advantages could include larger muscle mass, as well as bigger and longer bones and larger organs such as lungs and heart. They may also have higher levels of blood haemoglobin that lead to improved oxygen delivery to where it’s needed in working muscles]."

"Some people with some types of DSDs might have advantages in some or all of those elements, ranging from 0-100%, depending on the type of DSD and its precise genetic cause."

Prof Alun Williams, genetic factors related to sport performance research, Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport

In the wake of the Olympics staged in Paris just recently, the Paris prosecutor's office received a complaint for aggravated cyber harassment filed by Algerian boxer Imane Khelif who fought in women's welterweight. His round with Italy's Angela Carini sparked outrage when she stopped the fight at 46 seconds into their round when Khelif delivered a stunning blow that horrified spectators and alarmed Carini who said she had never before experienced that level of pain and fearing for her life refused to continue the bout.

 

'Testosterone is not the perfect test': IOC on boxer Khelif gender test controversy – video

 

The subsequent filing with the Paris prosecutor was filed with the French special unit for combating online hate speech, leading investigators to consider charges including gender-based cyber harassment and public insult. A tsunami of online attacks, claims Khelif, served to spread false claims questioning 'her' gender. And none other than former president Donald Trump, famed author J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk represented the more well-known and influential among those deriding claims of Khelif as female, although their posts were the mere tip of an iceberg of incredulity that a man was accepted as a woman in female boxing.

The International Olympics Committee would have none of it, identifying Khelif as a woman, despite that the International Boxing Association under Russian chief Umar Kremlev charged that a test administered a year ago to the Algerian boxer revealed XY chromosomes. The IOC a year ago, charging that the IBA was acting as a proxy for Vladimir Putin, cut its association with the group. None of this mattered to Olympics fans and women's groups who were outraged that an individual who reeked of masculinity was passing as a female.

That Imane Khelif's DNA reveals him to have XY chromosomes with male testosterone levels, may be a biological anomaly, but it may also be an indication that these anomalies occur in nature albeit infrequently, and those with these biological differences -- to ensure fairness to women -- should fight in alternate categories that take into account their biological physical characteristics reflective of those of males in bone structure, height, strength and endurance.

Angela Carini leaves the ring after abandoning the bout. Photograph: Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images

"I am a woman. I was born a woman and was raised a woman, and I compete as a woman."

"My honour is intact now [after beating Liu Yang of China for the welterweight division gold medal]."

"My message to the world -- the whole world -- is hold on to Olympic values and not bully people."

Imane Khelif, Gold Medal Olympian