No, Imane Khelif has not been banned from boxing for life

The Olympic Games wrapped up in August, but some false claims still haven’t been knocked out: Olympic gold-medalist and boxer Imane Khelif can attest.

"Olympic boxer Imane Khelif fails gender test, stripped of all titles, lifetime ban and $25 million prize money revoked!" read a viral Facebook post shared Sept. 24. Several other claims on Facebook parroted the claim. 

The post linked to an article that misgenders Khelif, claiming she "has been banned for life after failing a gender test, with the World Boxing Organization (WBO) officially declaring" Khelif a man. It said the ruling led to Khelif being stripped of all medals and prize money.  

But this claim is invented — and the post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

(Screenshot of Facebook post)

PolitiFact reviewed Nexis news archives and Google and found no credible news reports that Khelif has recently failed a gender test, been stripped of her titles, been banned from boxing, or had prize money revoked.

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The World Boxing Organization, which manages professional boxing competitions, has not issued any statement supporting this claim. Khelif has competed primarily in amateur boxing, which a separate organization, the International Boxing Association, governs.

During the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, Khelif drew public scrutiny following widespread claims that she was transgender. 

The claims stemmed from the Russian-led International Boxing Association disqualifying Khelif from competing in the 2023 World Championships after saying she failed to meet the gender eligibility requirements to compete in women’s sports following a blood test. But the International Olympic Committee suspended the International Boxing Association in 2019 and fully revoked the group’s recognition in 2023.

The International Olympic Committee’s Boxing Unit affirmed Khelif was eligible to compete in the Paris Olympics women’s boxing event. A statement from the IOC described the International Boxing Association’s decision as "sudden," "arbitrary" and made without "due process."  

Khelif was "born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport," International Olympic Committee Spokesperson Mark Adams said Aug. 2. "This is not a transgender case."

Following the controversy, neither the International Olympic Committee nor the International Boxing Association has issued any statements about a lifetime ban, revoking titles, or returning prize money.

Khelif herself said following an Olympic victory, "I want to tell the entire world that I am a female, and I will remain a female," according to NBC News. She has filed a criminal complaint in France over what she described as online harassment.

Given the scrutiny and heightened news coverage Khelif received during the Summer Games, she certainly would have made headlines from credible sources had she had been stripped of her titles and banned for life. There are none.

We rate this claim False.