Algeria's Imane Khelif wins women's welterweight boxing gold amid gender misconceptions

10.08.2024 - 00:00 cbc.ca

Crowds of women have shown up at Imane Khelif's fights during the Paris Olympics to rally around the Algerian boxer as she faced online abuse over misconceptions about her gender.

Hours before Khelif won a gold medal in the women's welterweight division Friday night, women arrived at Roland Garros wrapped in Algerian flags, many with no interest in boxing, but with the sole aim at supporting the 25-year-old boxer thrust into a worldwide clash over gender identity and regulation in sports. "I'm super happy that she got here, and I'm here to support her because she needs it, and she needs women to support her," said Sarah Dayan, sitting on a bench with miniature Algerian flags hanging above it.

Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan have been heavily scrutinized by those bringing up their disqualification from the world championships last year.

The Olympics-banned International Boxing Association claimed the two fighters failed unspecified eligibility tests for women's competition.

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Despite being labelled a 'biological male', Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won the gold medal for his country at the just-concluded Paris Olympics. She saw questions being raised over her gender whenever she won a boxing bout. However, this didn't stop Imane from keeping her focus completely on the in-ring action. However, as soon as the Olympic games came to a conclusion, Imane Khelif filed a lawsuit over online harassment, while also including Tesla owner Elon Musk and famous British author JK Rowling in it.

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Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won a gold medal in the women's welterweight division and was her country's flag bearer in the Olympics closing ceremony.

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PARIS — Olympic gold-medal-winning boxer Imane Khelif, who endured intense scrutiny about her gender throughout the Paris Games, has filed a formal legal complaint in which she says she was the victim of online abuse.

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Algerian gender-row boxer Imane Khelif said that winning Paris Olympics gold on Friday was the perfect response to "attacks" and "bullying", and declared: "I am a woman like any other." Khelif comprehensively won the women's 66kg final at Roland Garros, having been the focus of intense scrutiny in the French capital in the past fortnight. Together with Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting, who fights in the 57kg women's final on Saturday, Khelif was disqualified from last year's world championships after they failed gender eligibility testing. However they were cleared to compete in Paris, setting the stage for one of the biggest controversies of the Games.

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Imane Khelif said questions over her eligibility made victory taste even sweeter after she eased to Olympic boxing gold on a packed Philippe-Chatrier Court at Roland Garros on Friday night.