The president of World Boxing has issued an apology after Olympic champion Imane Khelif was singled out in the organization’s announcement of a new mandatory sex-testing policy.

Khelif, an Algerian boxer who won gold at the Paris Games last summer amid scrutiny over her eligibility, was specifically named when World Boxing unveiled the policy last Friday.

On Monday, World Boxing president Boris van der Vorst contacted the Algerian Boxing Federation to acknowledge the misstep.

“I am writing to you all personally to offer a formal and sincere apology for this and acknowledge that her privacy should have been protected,” van der Vorst said in a letter seen by The Associated Press.

He added that he hoped “by reaching out to you personally, we show our true respect to you and your athletes.”

Khelif and fellow gold medalist Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan drew attention in Paris after the International Boxing Association (IBA), the previous governing body for Olympic boxing, disqualified both from the 2023 world championships, citing unspecified eligibility issues.

However, the International Olympic Committee applied its own sex eligibility standards used in past Games and cleared both athletes to compete.

World Boxing, which has been provisionally approved as the sport’s governing body for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, has faced mounting pressure from athletes and national federations to implement formal sex eligibility rules.

The organization announced that, beginning July 1, all athletes over 18 competing in its events must undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) genetic test to determine their sex at birth. The test, performed via mouth swab, saliva, or blood, detects chromosomal material.

For female categories, if male chromosomal material is identified, “initial screenings will be referred to independent clinical specialists for genetic screening, hormonal profiles, anatomical examination, or other evaluation of endocrine profiles by medical specialists,” the organization said. An appeals process will also be available.

Khelif plans to defend her title at the LA Games, though some boxers and federations have already voiced opposition to her inclusion. She had been scheduled to return to international competition this month at the Eindhoven Box Cup in the Netherlands.

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