Imane Khelif: The Olympic Boxing Champion Wins Gold (image-Instagram/imane_khelif_10)
Amid massive vitriol and online attacks, Algeria’s Imane Khelif won her first gold medal in the women’s 66kg boxing category on Friday. Defeating China’s Yang Liu, achieving a unanimous points decision, Khelif fulfilled an eight-year-old dream.
The Olympic champion won every single round on the judge’s scorecard in the lead-up to the final. “From dreams to reality, the journey is gold. Proud to stand at the top for my country and the ones who believed. The fight never stops, only gets stronger,” wrote Khelif, sharing photos of her Olympic win on Instagram.
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Khelif’s Olympic journey has been consistent with sealing her victory with every match, starting from the now infamous 46-second match against Italy’s Angela Carini. The match triggered a huge wave of misinformation with several people – from JK Rowling, Elon Musk, Donald Trump to Italian PM Giorgia Meloni – calling Khelif a ‘biological man’ and mocking her achievement.
Even after childhood photos of Khelif surfaced online debunking the speculation, it did not stop the transphobia, witch-hunting and attacks against Khelif.
Notably, Carini herself never attacked Khelif. “I was angry because my Olympics had just gone up in smoke but I’ve nothing against Imane Khelif. On the contrary, if I saw her again, I’d give her a hug,” she said after the match.
The controversy erupted after information of Khelif failing International Boxing Association’s (IBA) ‘gender test’ surfaced. Interestingly, the methodology and her results of the ‘gender test’ have never been made public. Khelif’s disqualification came mid-tournament, three days after she defeated Russian boxer Azalia Amineva in the 2023 tournament. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) overturned the IBA’s decision and cut ties with the Russian-run organisation, banning it in 2019, over concerns of corruption.
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Khelif was born in Tiaret, Algeria, and grew up in a modest family. Despite limited resources and support, she pursued her dream of becoming a boxing champion with determination. She trained in local boxing clubs, often facing challenges due to the lack of facilities and opportunities for women in sports in Algeria. Her talent and perseverance eventually caught the attention of national coaches, leading to her selection for the national team.
Although there are still many of the same high-profile figures spreading misinformation online regarding her gender identity, the chants of “Imane, Imane” are far too loud this time as people from across the world celebrate Khelif’s historic victory.
