On Saturday, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif beat Hungarian Anna Luca Hamori in a unanimous decision at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Imane’s victory came after she faced a heap of ongoing unfair speculation around her gender following her match with Italian boxer Angela Carini last Thursday.
After Imane, 25, beat Angela, also 25, in 46 seconds, the latter told the media that she’d “never felt a punch like this” before. This led to tons of completely false speculation that Imane isn’t female, with heaps of people (and media outlets) spouting anti-trans rhetoric — from J.K. Rowling to Logan Paul. Logan later admitted to “spreading misinformation” about the athlete.
Many of these people based their claims on the fact that Imane was disqualified from the women's world championship last year after she failed to meet the International Boxing Association’s* gender eligibility criteria, per the Associated Press. Reports claimed that this was because Imane had high testosterone levels. However, there has never been evidence of this — nor has there been evidence of Imane having XY chromosomes, as the Washington Post noted.
*The International Boxing Association was stripped of its authority by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year due to “its failure to complete reforms on governance, finance and ethical issues.”
What’s more, Imane has been very vocal about what it was like partaking in boxing as a young girl from a rural village in Tiaret, Algeria. She told UNICEF earlier this year, “I particularly want to inspire girls and children who are disadvantaged in Algeria.”
While Angela later apologized for comments about Imane, Hungarian boxer Anna recently said that she doesn’t find it “fair” that the Algerian was allowed to “compete in the women's category.” She wrote on social media ahead of their match: “In my humble opinion, I don't think it's fair that this contestant can compete in the women's category. But I cannot concern myself with that now. I cannot change it, it's life. I can promise you one thing... I will do my best to win and I will fight as long as I can!”
Days later, Imane was misgendered by the International Boxing Association’s president, Umar Kremlev, at a public press conference, per the Telegraph.
After winning her match against Anna on Saturday, Imane told reporters, “I want to tell the entire world that I am a female, and I will remain a female.”
“I dedicate this medal to the world, and to all the Arabs, and I tell you, ‘Long live Algeria!’” she said.
On Monday, Imane spoke to SNTV (the Associated Press's sports video partner) about the unfair “media frenzy” surrounding her gender.
“I couldn’t control my nerves because after the media frenzy and after the victory, there was a mix of joy, and at the same time, I was greatly affected because honestly, it wasn’t easy to go through at all,” she said in Arabic, translated by the AP.
“It was something that harms human dignity,” she said. “And this is what affected me at the end of the match.”
Imane went on to say that she has previously trained with Italian boxer Angela. "The Italian boxer herself knew me and knew me well. I had training sessions with her in the rings in Assisi," she said, explaining that she frequently traveled to the Italian town for her training camps.
“They took advantage of the media campaign against me to affect me,” she said of Angela's camp.
“I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles, and, according to the Olympic charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes because this thing has effects, massive effects,” Imane said.
“It can destroy people; it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit, and mind. And it can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying, and that’s it,” she added.
