What is hyperandrogenism and why is it a debate at Paris 2024?

The Eiffel Tower and the Olympic Rings become sisters in Paris.

The shocking debut of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Thursday revived the controversy over the participation of athletes with excessive androgen in the Olympics and provoked strong reactions from international figures such as Javier Milei, Giorgia Meloni and Elon Musk.

Khalif is one of two female boxers in the French capital who failed gender testing for the 2023 tournament due to high testosterone levels.

The Algerian boxer made her boxing debut in Paris on Thursday and watched her opponent, Italian Angela Carini, throw in the towel after just 46 seconds of fighting.

After taking a powerful blow to the face, Carini headed for his corner and in dramatic scenes, the referee declared Khalif the winner of the round of 16 welterweight bout (weighing between 63.5 and 66.6 kg), while Carini fell to his knees in tears.

The Algerian woman later walked up to shake his hand, but an injured Carini dodged the greeting.

“I couldn’t go on. My nose hurt so much and I said: ‘Stop’. It was better not to continue,” the Italian declared. “I’ve always fought with men, trained with my brothers, but today I felt too much pain.”

“I have no one to judge or make decisions. If this woman is here, it must be for a reason,” Karini said in another intervention reported by the ANSA agency.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meroni, in Paris, came to the defence of her countrymen, saying the fight was “not an equal one”.

“I do not agree with the IOC,” Meroni declared during a meeting with Italian athletes. “I believe that female athletes with male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to compete in female competitions.”

Argentine President Javier Milley also weighed in. “If she continues, I will kill her,” he said on the social network X.

“Let’s see, Boroprogres. Explain… When their stupidity is labeled as an argument, they respond by attaching all sorts of labels that try to disprove their arguments. Then reality sets in and exposes them for their stupidity,” he added.

Khalif, who has received strong support from authorities in her country, congratulated herself on her “rapid success” and said she remained “focused on the goal of an Olympic medal”.

A long debate

Thursday’s race was the latest episode in a long-running debate surrounding the participation of hyper-androgynous athletes (women with naturally high testosterone levels) in sports.

These cases are exceptional circumstances at the highest level of competition, prompting authorities to develop specific rules that must find a complex balance between science, fairness and rights.

South African athlete and two-time Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya has appealed to the European Court of Human Rights after being disqualified for several years for refusing to take medication to lower his testosterone levels.

The fight footage between Khalif and Kalini caused a stir on social networks and sneaked into the US presidential campaign. Several Republican congressmen even posted on X that Khalif would be a man.

The owner of the social network, Donald Trump supporter Elon Musk, responded to a user who shared a fight scene, assuring: “Kamala Harris supports him.”

“It is. Or she denies it,” the tycoon said of Harris, the US vice president and possible Democratic candidate.

‘All lies’

Khalif and another boxer, Lin Yuting, are the most high-profile cases of athletes with high androgen levels at this Olympics.

Three years ago, both competed in the Tokyo Olympics, but in 2023, they were disqualified from the World Cup after failing the gender eligibility test made by the International Boxing Association (IBA).

Khelif received a warm applause from a large number of Algerian fans waving national flags at the Arena Nord in Paris on Thursday.

Hours earlier, the Algerian Olympic Committee (COA) came to the defence of its boxer, claiming she was the victim of “lies” and an “immoral attack”.

The International Olympic Committee took over the organization of Olympic boxing due to the IBA’s lack of transparency and guaranteed that all boxers “comply with the eligibility rules for the competition.”

“The testosterone test is not a perfect test. Many women can have the same or similar testosterone levels as men while being female,” said Mark Adam, a spokesman for the International Olympic Committee.