IMANE Khelif of Algeria earned a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics today after enduring days of sharp scrutiny and online abuse.
The 25-year-old is the subject of misconceptions about her gender, which have exploded into a larger clash about identity in sports, Associated Press reported.
Khelif defeated Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary 5-0 in the quarter-finals of the women’s 66 kilogramme bout to guarantee at least a bronze medal for herself.
Khelif will win at least a bronze medal after defeating Hamori for the second victory of her controversial stint at the Olympics.
AP reports that Khelif faced international scrutiny after the banned International Boxing Association claimed the Algerian failed an unspecified eligibility test for women’s competition last year.
She then won her opening bout on Thursday when opponent Angela Carini of Italy tearfully abandoned the fight after just 46 seconds.
The unusual ending caused quite a stir around the thorny issue of gender identity and regulations in sports, drawing comments from the likes of former United States of America President Donald Trump, ‘Harry Potter’ writer J.K. Rowling and others falsely claiming Khelif was a man or transgender.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach today defended Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan, who were disqualified in the middle of last year’s world championships by the International Boxing Association, the now-banned former governing body of Olympic boxing, after what it claimed were failed eligibility tests for the women’s competition.
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 today. “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 received the unprecedented punishment of being banned from Olympic participation in 2019 following years of conflict with the IOC, disqualified Khelif last year for what it said were elevated levels of testosterone.
The IBA, which is led by an acquaintance of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has not released more details on the tests, calling the process confidential.
“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.”
Khelif will clinch at least a bronze medal in her second Olympics after failing to reach the podium at the Tokyo Games held in 2021.
Khelif will face Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand in the 66kg semi6finals on Tuesday at Roland Garros. Suwannpheng, a silver medalist at last year’s world championships, upset defending Olympic champion Busenaz Surmeneli a few minutes before Khelif’s victory.
Lin, also a two-time Olympian, will clinch her first medal tomorrow if she beats Svetlana Staneva of Bulgaria. Lin won her opening bout yesterday comfortably over Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova.
