Imane Khelif secures first Olympic gold medal
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“I'm a woman like any other woman. I was born as a woman, I live as a woman, and I am qualified," Khelif says after winning her first gold Olympic medal amid gender row
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Algerian boxer Imane Khelif wins her first gold medal at the Paris Olympics, on August 9, 2024. (AFP)
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif secured her first gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Friday, obtaining a 5.0 score after defeating her Chinese counterpart Yang Liu amid gender controversy.
“For eight years, this has been my dream, and I'm now the Olympic champion and gold medalist,” Khelif told AP. “I want to thank all the Algerian people here in Paris, around the world and in Algeria. All the people from Algeria and all the people at my base. I want to thank all the team, my coach. Thank you so much. Algeria is very happy today."
Khelif has been facing a bullying campaign regarding her gender identity from both the general public and the International Boxing Association (IBA), who disqualified her in 2023 since she allegedly failed a gender eligibility test. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) deemed the tests as baseless, allowing her to compete in this year's games in Paris.
“We are in the Olympics to perform as athletes, and I hope that we will not see any similar attacks in future Olympics,” the athlete said on Friday, asserting “I'm fully qualified to participate in this competition.
“I'm a woman like any other woman. I was born as a woman, I live as a woman, and I am qualified," Khelif said in response to the controversies, adding that "there are enemies to success, and they can't digest my success.”
“It was my dream [to win this medal] and I am very happy today that I’m an Olympic gold medallist,” Khelif told the BBC after securing the gold medal.“Eight years of hard work, eight years of [being] too tired, eight years of no sleep – [this is] fantastic.”
Khelif defies online abuse
Khelif beat Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary 5:0 in the quarterfinals of the women's 66-kilogram category, securing at least a bronze medal following a second victory in her difficult Olympic journey.
Khelif faced outrage after the International Boxing Association, which has been banned from the Olympics since 2019, said she failed an undefined eligibility test to compete last year due to excessive testosterone levels.
She won her first match at the Paris Games last Thursday when Italy's Angela Carini forfeited 46 seconds into the game.
Her journey has created a polarizing debate about gender identity and sports, prompting remarks from former US president Donald Trump, author J.K. Rowling, and others who incorrectly labeled her a male.
Hungary's boxing organization announced last Friday that it would dispute the match against the IOC but would still allow the fight.
After the battle, Hungarian IOC member Balazs Furjes stated, alongside Hamori, that it was "never an option... not to fight."
Furjes delivered an ambiguous statement in which he commended both Hamori and the IOC while signaling Hungary was unhappy.
Earlier on August 3, IOC President Thomas Bach defended Khelif and Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting.
