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Imane Khelif

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Imane Khelif (Template:Lang-ar, Arabic: [ʔiːˈmaːn xaˈliːf]; born 2 May 1999) is an Algerian professional boxer. She represented Algeria at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. On 3 August 2024, she clinched at least a bronze medal in Paris after reaching the women's 66 kg semifinals,[2] making her Algeria's first boxer to win an Olympic medal since 2000.[3]

Imane Khelif
Khelif with a medal at a sports competition. She is wearing a backwards cap and athletic wear, smiling towards the camera.
Khelif at the 2023 Arab Games
Born (1999-05-02) 2 May 1999 (age 25)
Aïn Sidi Ali, Laghouat, Algeria
Statistics
Weight class
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights52
Wins43 (4 later disqualified)
Wins by KO6
Losses9
Draws0
No contests0
Medal record
Women's amateur boxing
Representing  Algeria
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2022 Istanbul Light welterweight
African Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Maputo Light welterweight
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Oran Light welterweight
Arab Games
Gold medal – first place 2023 Algeria Welterweight

Following Khelif's victory over Italy's Angela Carini during the 2024 Olympic Games, rumours surfaced on social media about her gender. These were fuelled by Khelif's disqualification from the 2023 Women's World Boxing Championships organised by the Russian-led International Boxing Association (IBA) after allegedly failing unspecified gender eligibility tests.[4][5] This disqualification happened three days after Khelif defeated a previously unbeaten Russian prospect, thus restoring the Russian boxer's undefeated record.[6] The IBA's Olympic status was later revoked due to governance issues as well as judging and refereeing corruption. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its Paris Boxing Unit stated Khelif was eligible to compete in the Olympics, and criticized the IBA's previous disqualification as "sudden and arbitrary" and taken "without any due process".[7] No medical evidence that Khelif has XY chromosomes or elevated levels of testosterone has been published.[8] Khelif was born female and identifies as female.[9]

Early life

Khelif was born in Aïn Sidi Ali, Laghouat Province.[10][11] When she was two months old, her family moved to Biban Mesbah, a rural village in Tiaret Province, where she would grow up.[12][13] In an interview with Reuters, her father stated, "Imane is a little girl that has loved sport since she was six-years-old."[14] She originally played football before switching to boxing. In her early years, she had to commute to Tiaret to attend training sessions, and sold scrap metal to afford the bus fare.[12][15] She stated that her father initially did not allow her to participate in the sport because "he did not approve of boxing for girls".[16]

Career

2018–2021: Career beginnings and Olympic debut

At the 2018 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships, Khelif finished 17th in the women's lightweight event after being eliminated in the first round by Karina Ibragimova.[17] At the 2019 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships, she finished 33rd in the women's lightweight event after being eliminated in the first round by Natalia Shadrina.[15][18]

In March 2021, she won a gold medal at the Istanbul Bosphorus International Boxing Tournament, defeating Anastasia Belyakova in the final of the women's lightweight event.[19][20]

She represented Algeria in the women's lightweight event at the 2020 Summer Olympics,[21] where she was defeated by Ireland's Kellie Harrington in the quarterfinals.[22][23] She was the first female boxer to represent Algeria at the Olympics.[10]

2022: IBA Championships final and boxing successes

In February 2022, Khelif won a gold medal at the Strandja Memorial Tournament after defeating Nataliya Sychugova in the final of the women's 63 kg event.[24][25]

Khelif was selected as Algeria's flagbearer at the 2022 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships.[26] At the tournament, she became the first Algerian female boxer to reach the final after defeating Chelsey Heijnen.[27] She was then defeated by Amy Broadhurst in the final and finished runner-up.[28][29] Later that year, Khelif saw further success, winning gold medals at the Mediterranean Games and the African Amateur Boxing Championships.[30][31]

2023: IBA Championships disqualification

Khelif receiving her gold medal after defeating Morocco's Oumaïma Belahbib in the women's welterweight final of the 2023 Arab Games

In March 2023, Khelif competed for the gold medal in the finals at the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships; however, she was disqualified shortly before her gold medal bout against Chinese boxer Yang Liu. The disqualification came amid allegations from the Russian-led International Boxing Association's (IBA) that Khelif had failed unspecified eligibility tests.[32] This disqualification happened three days after Khelif defeated Azalia Amineva [ru], a previously unbeaten Russian prospect.[6][32] The disqualification restored the Russian boxer's undefeated record.[6][32] According to the Algerian Olympic Committee, Khelif was disqualified due to medical reasons; later reports indicated her testosterone levels were too high to compete.[33][34] Uzbekistani boxer Navbakhor Khamidova was awarded the bronze medal over Khelif.[35]

In 2023, IBA president Umar Kremlev alleged that the disqualifications were because DNA tests "proved they had XY chromosomes".[36][8] The Washington Post stated, "It remains unclear what standards Khelif and Lin Yu Ting failed [in 2023] to lead to the disqualifications",[8][36] further writing, "There never has been evidence that [...] Khelif [...] had XY chromosomes or elevated levels of testosterone."[8] The IBA did not reveal the testing methodology, stating the "specifics remain confidential".[37] At the time, Khelif said the ruling meant having "characteristics that mean I can't box with women", but said she was the victim of a "big conspiracy" regarding the disqualification.[38] She initially appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but later withdrew.[16]

On 31 July 2024, regarding their 2023 decision, the IBA alleged that Khelif and others "did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential", and further alleged that they "were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors".[39] The following day, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) released their own statement in response, stating that the IBA's decision was "sudden and arbitrary" and "without any due process". They further stated the following:

According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO. The IBA Board only ratified it afterwards and only subsequently requested that a procedure to follow in similar cases in the future be established and reflected in the IBA Regulations. The minutes also say that the IBA should "establish a clear procedure on gender testing".[40]

In July 2023, four months after the IBA Championships disqualification, Khelif represented Algeria at the Arab Games, where she won a gold medal in the women's welterweight event.[41]

In November 2023, she announced that she was turning professional.[42] Her first professional fight took place in Singapore that month.[43]

2024: Summer Olympics

See also: Concerns and controversies at the 2024 Summer Olympics § Women's boxing controversy

In January 2024, Khelif became a UNICEF national ambassador.[15][16] In April, she won the women's 66 kg event at the World Boxing Cup in Pueblo, Colorado, U.S., defeating Emilie Sonvico in the final.[44][45]

The IBA's Olympic status was revoked in June 2023,[46] due to governance issues and judging and refereeing corruption.[37][47] As a result, the boxing events in Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics were managed by the IOC's Paris 2024 Boxing Unit.[36] The IOC cleared Khelif to compete in Paris, confirming that she complied with all necessary eligibility and medical regulations for the event.[34][48] While the IOC does not test athletes for gender,[8] it stated that all athletes competing in Paris comply with the competition's eligibility and entry regulation, and that Khelif "was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport".[49][40] Later, the IOC confirmed receiving the letter from the IBA in June 2023, and stated that "from the conception of the test, to how the test was shared with us, to how the tests have become public, is so flawed that it’s impossible to engage with it".[50]

During the International Boxing Association (IBA) press conference in Paris on 5 August 2024, the position of the organization and its president Umar Kremlev regarding the nature of the conducted tests underwent changes and became contradictory. Initially, the IBA claimed that gender tests were conducted, but at the conference, Secretary General Chris Roberts spoke of "chromosome tests," while Kremlev asserted that the tests were aimed at determining testosterone levels in athletes. The situation was exacerbated by Kremlev's harsh statements, who repeatedly criticized IOC President Thomas Bach, declared his intention to initiate legal proceedings against him, and expressed dissatisfaction with the Olympic Games opening ceremony, calling it "humiliating.[51][52][53][54] The IBA claimed to have used laboratories accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for testing, but WADA denied involvement in gender verification, stating it deals solely with anti-doping matters.[53]

Seeded fifth in the women's 66 kg event,[55] Khelif defeated Hungary's Luca Hámori in the quarterfinals on 3 August, guaranteeing her at least a bronze medal. Khelif is Algeria's first boxer to win an Olympic medal since Mohamed Allalou in 2000.[56][3] She will face Thailand's Janjaem Suwannapheng in the semifinals on 6 August.[2][57]

Second-round fight against Angela Carini

 
Khelif (red) and Carini during their second-round fight at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Arabic-language interview with Khelif following her second round fight

As the fifth seed in the women's 66 kg event, Khelif received a bye into the second round.[58] In the second round, held on 1 August, she defeated Angela Carini of Italy 46 seconds after the match commenced, when Carini withdrew after receiving two blows, citing intense pain in her nose. Carini reportedly exclaimed "It's not fair!" after a particularly hard punch from Khelif. Because of this, Khelif received online backlash from those who questioned her gender.[59]

The Algerian Olympic Committee (COA) defended Khelif, describing the reaction towards Khelif as "unethical targeting" and "baseless propaganda". The COA stated that they have taken all necessary measures to protect Khelif and her right to compete in the Olympics.[16] The next day, Carini apologized to Khelif via the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, stating, "All this controversy makes me sad [...] I'm sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision."[60][61]

Khelif's father, in a statement to Sky Sports, stated, "My child is a girl. She was raised as a girl. She's a strong girl. I raised her to be hard-working and brave. She has a strong will to work and to train."[62] At a news conference on 3 August 2024, IOC President Thomas Bach defended the participation of Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, saying, "There was never any doubt about them being a woman."[63] He further reaffirmed that Khelif was born a woman and denounced hate speech against her.[49]

See also

References

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