"The gold medal should now be stripped from Imane Khelif" - Piers Morgan reacts to report claiming boxer has 'micropenis' and XY chromosomes

Imane Khelif is the subject of a fresh controversy after unverified reports emerged of a French journalist allegedly obtaining a copy of her medical reports which claim the boxer has 'XY' chromosomes. Reacting to the development, British broadcaster Piers Morgan opined that the Algerian boxer should be stripped of her gold medal.

Khelif won the medal nearly unchallenged in the women's 66kg welterweight division at the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, her participation in the Games brewed controversy after the International Boxing Federation, which is barred by the IOC, claimed in 2023 that the boxer had failed a gender test at the World Championships.

However, the International Olympic Committee deemed that Khelif was eligible to compete in the female category with the boxer eventually winning the gold medal in the 66kg welterweight division. Nearly three months after her victory, an unverified report claimed French journalist Ait Aoudia has allegedly gained access to her medical reports from 2023. As per Aoudia, the boxer was found to have internal testicles and XY chromosomes in addition to a 'micropenis'.

Reacting to the journalist's claims on X (formerly Twitter), former BBC broadcaster Piers Morgan claimed Khelif should be stripped of her Olympic gold medal. He wrote:

"Confirmation of what some of us said at the time: Khelif is a biological man. The gold medal should now be stripped and awarded to the best actual woman."

Morgan was against the Algerian boxer's participation in the Paris Olympics and wrote a column in The Sun on August 2 condemning the IOC's decision to allow her to compete. He wrote at the time:

"Imane Khelif is NOT a biological woman.. watching this shamefully unequal Olympic fight was sickening"

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What did Imane Khelif say about her gender following her Olympic triumph?

Olympian Portraits From Around The Globe - Olympic Games Paris 2024 - Imane Khelif poses with her gold medal (Source: Getty)

Imane Khelif has repeatedly stated that she was born and raised as a woman. Following her gold medal triumph in Paris, she hit out at her critics in an interview, saying (via The Guardian):

"I am fully qualified to take part in this competition. I’m a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived a woman, I competed as a woman, there’s no doubt about that. [The detractors] are enemies of success, that is what I call them. And that also gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.”

Khelif also filed a case against 'X' at the Paris correctional court over online harassment during the Games. Several public figures, including X owner Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and J.K. Rowling, were reportedly named in the lawsuit.