evidence: Imane Khelif’s gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics meant also overcoming a furore that erupted around her and another boxer earlier in the games. Ugly issues of gender identity, gender testing and testosterone levels once again raised their head in elite women’s sport. Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting failed a questionable gender test administered by the International Boxing Association (IBA) in 2023, but were declared fit for entry by the International Olympic Committee. Both are female and identify as such, yet one of Khelif’s opponents sparked a public outcry that Khelif had an unfair advantage, spurring false claims she is transgender and with it a wave of online hate. We asked sport sociologist and former boxer Anne Tjønndal to explain what happened – and what else about women’s boxing needs to be discussed. [...] In recent news, Khelif has become a victim of widespread misinformation and unfounded allegations regarding her gender. She has been falsely accused of being transgender, despite living her entire life as a woman and having a long-standing career in women’s boxing. The controversy originated from the IBA’s disqualification of Khelif from the 2023 World Championship. The IBA cited her failure to meet gender eligibility tests, but has not specified the nature of these tests, sparking rumours that Khelif is transgender and biologically male.