Paris Olympics 2024: Imane Khelif hits out at critics after winning gold

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif labeled her critics “enemies of success” after she won Algeria’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing at a raucous Roland Garros in Paris.

Khelif’s gender has been the subject of controversy and online vitriol since the Games began last week.

The 25-year-old defeated world champion Yang Liu in the women’s 66kg category in a unanimous decision, in the 15,000-capacity arena packed with Algerian diaspora in France.

“As for whether I qualify or not, whether I am a woman or not, I have made many statements in the media,” Khelif told reporters following her victory.

“I am fully qualified to take part in this competition. I’m a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived as a woman, I competed as a woman, there’s no doubt about that. (The critics) “They are enemies of success, that is what I call them. And that also gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.”

The debate surrounding Khelif dates back to a ban she received last year, along with Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu Ting, after both failed an unspecified gender eligibility test administered by the International Boxing Association (IBA). The IBA has not disclosed what the test consisted of.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped the IBA of its recognition as boxing’s governing body and expelled it from the Olympics prior to Paris 2024, over corruption, poor governance and a lack of financial transparency.

The IOC described the failed eligibility tests as an “arbitrary decision taken without any proper procedure” and “contrary to good governance”.

“As for the IBA, since 2018 I have been boxing under their umbrella,” said Khelif following her victory.

“They know me very well, they know what I’m capable of, they know how I’ve developed over the years but now they are not recognized any more. They hate me and I don’t know why. I send them a single message: with this gold medal, my dignity, my honor is above everything else.”

Furore around Khelif’s gender began on social media last week, after she comprehensively beat Italian opponent Angela Carini in just 46 seconds, prompting unfounded claims about the Algerian.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling referred to Khelif as a “male” and accused her of “enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.”

🇩🇿 Algerian women making history at the #Paris2024 #Olympics

🥇 A first ever gold medal in gymnastics by Kaylia Nemour
🥇 A first ever gold medal in women’s boxing by Imane Khelif

Queens. 👑 pic.twitter.com/ghVPSTKes0

— Algeria FC (@Algeria_FC) August 9, 2024

US presidential candidate Donald Trump declared in capital letters: “I will keep men out of women’s sports,” while his vice presidential nominee, JD Vance, said that “Kamala Harris’ ideas about gender” have led “to a grown man pummeling a woman in a boxing match”.

The criticism and online comments spurred on fans of Khelif, with all her matches following the backlash packed with fans waving Algerian flags.

Fans at Court Philippe-Chatrier, which was converted to a boxing arena following the conclusion of the Olympic tennis competition, chanted “Khelifa!” and “One, two, three, viva l’Algerie” on Friday night.

An hour after the fight, thousands were still in the arena to watch Khelif stand atop the podium as the Algerian national anthem played out.

Minutes after the conclusion of the final, she took a congratulatory phone call from Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

“My message to the whole world is that they should commit to Olympic principles and they should not bully people. The Olympic values ​​are extremely important. I hope people will stop bullying,” said Khelif.

“We have to perform as athletes. I hope we will not see any similar attacks on future Olympians.”

She added that Algerian women were known for their “strength” and “strong will”.

Khelif was the second Algerian gold medal winner at Paris 2024.

Algerian teenager Kaylia Nemour won gold in the women’s uneven bars, becoming the first African athlete to win a gymnastics medal.