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Algerian boxer at centre of controversy makes four-word statement on gender after latest Olympic win

Algerian boxer at centre of controversy makes four-word statement on gender after latest Olympic win

After winning a medal in the women's 66kg division, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who failed gender tests, gave a brief message to her detractors.

Khelif is fighting in the women's category almost a year after the IBA said a gender test revealed the boxer had XY chromosomes.

However, Khelif remains in the women's competition, according to the boxer, for one reason:

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Imane Khelif of Algeria is seen before the fight against Angela Carini of Italy. (REUTERS/Isabel Infantes)

“I'm a woman.”

Khelif expressed that sentiment after defeating Hungarian boxer Anna Luca Hamori. Khelif advanced to the semifinals with that win, and since boxing doesn't have semifinals, Khelif is guaranteed, at worst, a bronze medal.

IOC President Thomas Bach on Saturday defended Khelif and fellow Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting. Khelif and Lin were disqualified midway through last year's world championships by the IBA, the former governing body of Olympic boxing, after they said they 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, has refused to provide information about the tests, underscoring its lack of transparency in almost every aspect of its dealings, particularly in recent years.

Imane Khelif of Algeria is pictured before her match against Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary at the Paris Olympics on August 3, 2024. (MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images)

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“Let's be very clear: we are talking about women's boxing,” Bach said Saturday. “We have two boxers who were born as women, who were raised as women, who have a women's passport and who have competed for many years as women. And this is the clear definition of a woman. There was never any doubt about her status as a woman.”

The IOC has called the IBA's tests “flawed”.

Khelif's mother, Irene, said on Algerian television after the fight that she was “proud of [her] daughter” and called the boxer “brave despite racist and sexist attacks to break her.”

The controversy reached new heights when Khelif's previous opponent, Italian Angela Carini, lost her bout against Khelif just 46 seconds into the fight.