After a difficult journey through the 2024 Paris Olympics, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has emerged victorious with a gold medal.
Photo: Instagram.com
Tonight, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has made her home country and the region proud by winning a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics‘ 66kg event. Khelif has also made history as Algeria’s first female boxer to win a medal at the Olympics. The 25-year-old welterweight faced a less-than-ideal experience after she defeated Italian boxer Angela Carini in the knockout bout, sparking headlines about her gender. As she advanced through the quarter-finals to tonight’s decider with China’s Yang Liu, Khelif received an outpouring of support from the region and beyond, including a statement from the International Olympics Committee (IOC).
“The Algerian boxer was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, and has a female passport,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said. “This is not a transgender case. I know you’re not saying that, but there has been some confusion that somehow it’s a man fighting a woman. This is just not the case, scientifically. On that, there is consensus. Scientifically, this is not a man fighting a woman. And I think that we need to kind of get that. This woman has competed for a very, very long time in women’s sport against many components, in fact, against Italian boxers, and lost twice in the last couple of years I think. So, if you start working on all suspicions, then we end up heading towards a gender testing regime, which is not good for anybody.”
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Ahead of the final match, Khelif shared her thoughts about the bullying and online hate she was met with, and made a case for kindness. “I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympics principles, according to the Olympics charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes because this thing has effects, massive effects,” she said in the interview. “It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit, and mind. And it can divide people.” Khelif also cleared the air around the incident with her opponent Carini, saying, “Honestly, the Italian boxer has known me for a long time. And I have been visiting Italy for years… in the city of Assisi in the south for my training camps. Most of my training camps were in Italy. The coaches have known me since I was young in the national team and I used to train with them. The Italian boxer herself knew me — and knew me well. I had training sessions with her in the rings in Assisi. They took advantage of the media campaign against me to affect me but I will work to reach the goal I am here for.”
Congratulations, Imane Khelif!
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