Imane Khelif clinches Olympic medal in face of online abuse over misconceptions about her gender
Greg Beacham | The Associated Press | Posted: August 3, 2024 9:42 AM | Last Updated: August 3
IOC leader says 'hate speech' directed at Imane Khelif, Lin Yu-Ting is unacceptable
Boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria clinched a medal at the Paris Olympics in an emotional fight Saturday that followed days of sharp scrutiny and online abuse as misconceptions about her gender have exploded into a larger clash about identity in sports.
Khelif defeated Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary 5:0 in the quarterfinals of the women's 66-kilogram bout. Khelif will win at least a bronze medal after defeating Hamori for the second victory of her tumultuous second trip to the Olympics. Hungary's boxing association said it planned to contest the matchup with the International Olympic Committee but still let the fight go ahead.
Khelif faced outcry after the banned International Boxing Association claimed she failed an unspecified eligibility test to compete last year. She won her opening bout at the Paris Games on Thursday when opponent Angela Carini of Italy tearfully abandoned the fight after just 46 seconds.
The unusual ending became a sharp wedge to drive into an already prominent divide over gender identity and regulations in sports, drawing comments from the likes of former U.S. President Donald Trump, "Harry Potter" writer J.K. Rowling and others falsely claiming Khelif was a man or transgender.
WATCH | Algeria's Khelif cruises past Italy's Carini in Olympic women's boxing round of 16:
At a Paris Games that has championed inclusion and seen other outcry over an opening ceremony performance featuring drag queens, LGBTQ+ groups say the hateful comments could pose dangers to their community and female athletes.
Khelif's win was emotional — she went to the center of the ring, waved to her fans, knelt and slammed her palm on the canvas, her a smile turning to tears. She left the ring to hug her coaches while her fans roared, weeping during their embrace and as she walked out.
IOC leader says 'hate speech' is unacceptable
IOC President Thomas Bach on Saturday defended Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan. Khelif and Lin were disqualified in the middle of last year's world championships by the IBA, the former governing body of Olympic boxing after what it claimed were failed eligibility tests.
Both had competed in IBA events for several years without problems, and the Russian-dominated body — which has faced years of clashes with the IOC over judging scandals, leadership decisions and financial issues — has refused to provide any information about the tests, underscoring its lack of transparency in nearly every aspect of its dealings, particularly in recent years.
"Let's be very clear here: We are talking about women's boxing," Bach said Saturday. "We have two boxers who are born as a woman, who have been raised a woman, who have a passport as a woman, and who have competed for many years as women. And this is the clear definition of a woman. There was never any doubt about them being a woman."
The IBA, which is led by an acquaintance of Russian President Vladimir Putin, disqualified Khelif last year but has not released more details on the tests, calling the process confidential. It faced the unprecedented punishment of being banned from Olympic participation in 2019 following years of conflict with the IOC.
"What we see now is that some want to own the definition of who is a woman," Bach added. "And there I can only invite them to come up with a scientific-based new definition of who is a woman, and how can somebody being born, raised, competed and having a passport as a woman cannot be considered a woman?
"If they are coming up with something, we are ready to listen," Bach added. "We are ready to look into it, but we will not take part in a sometimes politically motivated cultural war."
WATCH | Former IOC medical adviser weighs in on women's Olympic boxing discussion: