Did Mara Yamauchi's questions scare Imane Khelif off?

Khelif is finding it hard to cash in on a gold medal that was arranged as part of an IOC-driven fraud

Above is the term card (program) printed by Oxford Union, the self-described “most prestigious debating society in the world,” announcing a talk by Olympic boxer Imane Khelif, hosted in collaboration with the Oxford Arab Society. On November 14, three days before the talk was to take place, the Oxford Arab Society posted on Instagram that, “Due to unforeseen circumstances, Imane Khelif would be unable to attend the event in collaboration with Oxford Union, and the event has therefore been cancelled.”

There are at least three things about this that make me say hmmmmm. First, the Oxford Union is very discerning about their guests and dedicated to open inquiry. They’ve built a sterling reputation for inviting high profile, often controversial speakers, heavyweights in the arena of thought exchange. Which begs the question, why did they invite Khelif? He’s controversial for perpetuating a mistake by the attending physician or midwife at his birth, and has been happy to let the IOC do the talking for him. So far his time in the spotlight has been more Jerry Springer than an evening at the Oxford Union. Uncharacteristically, Oxford Union did not appear to have vetted Khelif, as evidenced by the term card announcement above that’s partially lifted from Wikipedia. Another tell is that their contact form displays imaginative sexes and a dizzying and nonsensical choice of pronouns. Then again, maybe someone at the Oxford Arab Society had a connection to Khelif? I contacted the Oxford Union to ask them, but did not receive a reply.

Secondly, why did Khelif accept the invitation, from a debating society? Certainly, he is eager to cash in on his gold medal fame, as we’ve seen by his appearance in Vogue, and while the Oxford Union’s invitation comes with plenty of prestige, eloquent defense of his womanhood is not his strong suit. After sex verification tests in 2022 and 2023 came back showing XY chromosomes, Khelif initiated an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but later withdrew that appeal. At various times, he has threatened lawsuits against JK Rowling, Donald Trump, and Elon Musk, and has allegedly initiated a lawsuit over leaked medical records that show he is genetically male. In a recent Italian TV interview, he stumbled over some tough questions, blamed others, then patronizingly turned on the Italian boxer he beat by default, and said of Carini’s comments about quitting the match to save her life, “I wish her every success, people can make mistakes but we must learn from our mistakes.” This is not someone with the gift of persuasion, and you’d think he knows that.

And third, why did Khelif then cancel? Uhhh, he didn’t know the questions would be hard? Thomas Bach can be counted on to protect his own and the IOC’s investment in Khelif, but that’s as far as it goes. Bach cannot be counted on to handhold and run damage control for every appearance Khelif sets up. And maybe, just maybe, Khelif was freaked out by a very polite, but challenging letter Mara Yamauchi wrote to the president of the Oxford Union. Yamauchi didn’t call for Khelif to be deplatformed, as trans activists are wont to do. She did, though, straighten out where the misinformation about Khelif’s sex was coming from, and in keeping with the Oxford Union’s legacy of open debate, posited some pointed questions both for the Union—”Who exactly should be included in the Female category, and who excluded, and why?”—and for Khelif—”It has been widely reported that you failed two eligibility tests to compete in the Female category in 2022 and 2023. The IBA disqualified you from the 2023 Women’s World Boxing Championships. After this, you filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport which you later withdrew. Why did you withdraw your appeal?” Yamauchi emailed her letter to the president of the Oxford Union at 4:59pm on November 14, and tweeted it at 5:04pm. The Oxford Arab Society posted at 5:20pm that same day that Khelif had cancelled. Make of that what you will. What seems obvious is that the “unforeseen circumstances” involve direct questions that Khelif is afraid to answer.

If you’re unaware of Mara Yamauchi, she’s an author, former elite marathoner, two time Olympian, and tireless champion of women’s right to women’s sports. Here’s why she wrote to the president of the Oxford Union:

“I wrote this letter for a number of reasons. The issue of males with DSDs competing in the Female category is widely misunderstood, mainly because of false and misleading reporting by the media over many years. I therefore wanted to bring facts and the truth to the attention of the Union and the audience. The Union is all about free speech. They invited Khelif. This was therefore a golden opportunity to hear from Khelif, and to hear answers to some very important questions which remain unanswered. I am a female athlete. What I have spent my life doing has only been possible because of the Female category. I therefore strongly oppose males of any kind in the Female category at any level. Seeing many young female athletes suffering the unforgiveable injustice of competing against males with DSDs has broken my heart. I am older and retired, and I feel I should speak up for them. Males in women's sports has got so bad now because of the silence of so many. Oxford is my home town and where I went to school and university. I felt I had to speak up. "

And here’s her letter with questions many people would have been keen to hear answered :

Mr Ebrahim Osman-Mowafy

The President

The Oxford Union

Frewin Court

Oxford OX13JB

14th Nov 2024

Dear Mr Osman-Mowafy,

The Female category: fair and safe sport for female athletes

I note from your term card that the Oxford Union, in collaboration with the Oxford Arab Society, plans to host a speech by Algerian boxer Imane Khelif on Sunday, 17th Nov 2024. Your term card states: “Imane Khelif is a professional Algerian boxer who recently represented Algeria at the Paris Olympic games and was the first Arab woman to win a boxing gold. Following Khelif’s victory during the 2024 Olympic Games, misinformation surfaced about her gender and eligibility to compete after she was barred from competing in a women’s category the year before. This lead Khelif to file an online harassment case against several notable celebrities such as Donald Trump, Elon Musk and others.”

I am not an Oxford Union member but I take a close interest in this, because I am an Oxford graduate and a former elite athlete. From having a dream to become an Olympian at age 11, to racing for GB in the women’s marathon at Beijing 2008 took 24 years of hard work and sacrifice by me and many others. In 2009, when I finished 2nd in the London Marathon in 2:23:12, I was ranked 2nd in the world in women’s road running, yet at least 1300 men ran faster than me – this was because of their sex, not because they had superior training, coaches or shoes than me. I hope you can see from this fact that if the Female category had not existed and been exclusively for females during the 24 years of my development to elite level, I would never have achieved anything in running.

Your term card describes Khelif as a “woman” and makes no mention of the overwhelming evidence which points to Khelif having a disorder of male sexual development (DSD). In case you are unaware of this evidence, I have set out some of it below. I hope you will make all this evidence available to your audience on Sunday.

Evidence pointing to Khelif having a male DSD Khelif failed two eligibility tests for the Female category in boxing in 2022 and 2023, as reported by sports journalist Alan Abrahamson who saw the test results and related correspondence from the IBA (International Boxing Association) to the IOC. In its letter, the IBA stated that it “concluded the boxer’s DNA was that of a male consisting of XY chromosomes”.

In March 2023, the IBA disqualified Khelif from the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships New Delhi 2023. Khelif began an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over this disqualification, but later withdrew this appeal. If Khelif were definitely female, why would Khelif abandon this appeal to CAS?

On 3 August 2024, IOC President Bach said at the IOC Press Conference “...this is not a DSD case,...”. Soon after, the IOC’s official X account issued a correction, stating that what Bach intended to say was “...this is not a transgender case,...”. There is no suggestion that Khelif identifies as transgender. If Khelif did not have a DSD, there would be no need for the IOC to have issued this correction.

Widespread reporting on Khelif’s leaked medical records in the last two weeks have confirmed the evidence above. There is plenty of other evidence suggesting that Khelif has a male DSD. This article by Dorian Coleman provides a useful summary. In this interview, Dr Emma Hilton explains the androgenising effects of DSDs which only affect males.

Given that you have invited Khelif, whom you call a “woman”, I have the following questions for you, if I may:

1. What is a woman?

2. Why does the Female category exist, in boxing and in all sports?

3. Who exactly should be included in the Female category and who excluded, and why?

4. Do females of all ages, abilities and levels deserve fair and safe sport, or not?

The Oxford Union, as a bastion of free speech, is of course free to invite anyone it wishes to invite to speak. However, given the evidence referred to above, it is interesting that you chose to invite Khelif. There are a large number of exceptional and accomplished female boxers whom you could have invited – the names of some of them are below. Have you ever invited them to speak? If not, I encourage you to invite all of them.

Female boxers who fought Khelif at Paris 2024

Angela Carini, Italy

Anna Luca Hamori, Hungary

Janjaem Suwannapheng, Thailand

Yang Liu, China

Female boxers who won gold at Paris 2024

Wu Yu, China (50kg)

Chang Yuan, China (54kg)

Kellie Harrington, Ireland (60kg)

Li Qian, China (75kg)

There are also many accomplished Algerian and Arab female boxers.

The Union’s hosting of Khelif’s speech is an excellent opportunity to hear directly from Khelif about the above. I am therefore writing to request that you ask the questions below of 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 and discussion of the evidence above. 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.

1. It has been widely reported that you failed two eligibility tests to compete in the Female category in 2022 and 2023. The IBA disqualified you from the 2023 Women’s World Boxing Championships. After this, you filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport which you later withdrew. Why did you withdraw your appeal?

2. There has been controversy about you competing in the Female category at Paris 2024. You could put an end to this quickly by putting into the public domain unequivocal, irrefutable evidence (eg results of a cheek swab test) that you are female (defined as a body organised to produce large gametes). Do you have any plans to do this?

3. At the Rio Olympics 2016, a male athlete with a DSD which confers male advantage, Caster Semenya, won gold in the women’s 800m. Do you support this?

4. In March 2023, World Aquatics’ new policy on eligibility for the Male and Female categories came into force. It includes the following: “All male athletes, including athletes with 46 XY DSD, are eligible to compete in World Aquatics competitions and to set World Aquatics World Records in the men’s category, regardless of their legal gender, gender identity, or gender expression.” Do you support this? Would you support the same rule being adopted for boxing?

5. At Paris 2024, the IOC’s rule for eligibility for the Female category was “passport sex”. This means that anyone, whether male or female, in possession of a “Female” ID document could have competed. If all of your rivals in the women’s boxing competition had been male, obviously it would have been more difficult to win the gold medal. How would you have felt if all your rivals had been male?

I wish you well for your event on Sunday. I and many others will be following closely to see what transpires. In keeping with the Union’s ethos, I hope that rigorous debate will be upheld. In the meantime, I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Mara Yamauchi

Mara Yamauchi

cc: Professor Irene Tracey, CBE, FRS, FMedSci, Vice-Chancellor, University of Oxford

Oxford Arab Society

Noah Robson, Chair, Consultative Committee, The Oxford Union

Sir Matthew Pinsent, Oxford graduate, former elite rower

Maya Forstater, CEO, Sex Matters

Dr Nicola Williams, Director, Fair Play for Women

International Consortium on Female Sport

Oxford Feminist Union

Cathy Devine, Independent Researcher

Dr Emma Hilton, Developmental Biologist, University of Manchester

Prof Jon Pike, Professor of the Philosophy of Sport, The Open University

Dr Ross Tucker, Sports Scientist, Cape Town

While Khelif bobs and weaves when it comes to direct questions, lawsuits are his go-to. He’s said to be preparing a lawsuit against a French journalist who wrote about leaked medical records that indicate Khelif has a disorder of sexual development, 46 XY 5 ARD, that only affects males. What he doesn’t seem to realize is that these lawsuits, like the appeal he initiated with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, are going to require that he, again, answer some pointed questions about his sex. For reasons that look a lot like flailing male aggression, instead of clutching his gold medal and fading quietly away, he keeps devising situations in which he’ll have to answer hard questions. Maybe too much concussion of the gray cells.

It’s painful to watch because this none-too-bright bulb was set up for a lonely, humiliating end by the International Olympic Committee. Certainly, Khelif thought he’d won the lottery when the IOC went to bat for him, tossing out the IBA and their independently conducted genetic tests, and practically handing him a freaking Olympic gold medal before the first bell. Little did he know, that gold medal was going to be a millstone around his neck.

The IOC, for their part, saw a rerun of their deliciously misogynistic Caster Semenya era, in which they knew that Semenya was male with a DSD way back in 2009 but continued to allow him to take women’s places and awards, and gaslight the public, peaking (pun intended) with their crowning achievement, the 2016 Olympics in which the entire women’s 800-meter track podium was male with DSDs. Khelif was the perfect new vehicle for the IOC’s out-of-control misogyny, with the added bonus of actually being able to visit physical harm on women, not just humiliation. Unfortunately, the ground has shifted under their feet. People know more about DSDs. This time around, when the IOC loudly backed a person who all evidence points to being male punching a woman, well, it prompted a metaphoric look at the IOC’s hard drive. This entire disaster is on them. They’ve denied Olympic opportunities for women and knowingly exposed them to gross physical harm, they’ve set Khelif up for public scrutiny of private medical issues, they’ve made a mockery of fairness and ethics, and irreparably tarnished arguably the most prestigious sports brand in the world. That’s quite a body of work.

And while Khelif is managing to make himself an easy scapegoat, the IOC’s hand in this crime has not gone unnoticed. International Boxing Association president Umar Kremlev blasted Thomas Bach and the IOC: “Everyone already knows the news. The International Olympic Committee has violated all sports rules by putting a man against a woman. Tests have again confirmed that Imane Khelif is indeed a man. Today, as the President of the International Boxing Association, which upholds gender equality and protects both women’s and men’s boxing, I demand that Thomas Bach and his team both verbally and in writing, apologize to the global boxing community. 

"Thomas Bach himself bears direct responsibility for this, as he personally lobbied for this to happen – for men to compete against women. On behalf of all boxers in the world, I demand them to kneel and apologize to the boxing community and to those girls who have been beaten and abused. Thomas Bach, I am now waiting, as is everyone in IBA, for your official apology."

We should not hold our breath for Thomas Bach’s bended knee apology, but if Khelif continues his campaign of lawsuits and gold medal appearances, the truth may out whether he intends that or not. And that’s going to put the IOC on the ropes. Of course, Thomas Bach will have stepped down by then—mission accomplished.