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

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.

The International Olympic Committee has called the arbitrary sex tests that the sport's governing body imposed on the two boxers irretrievably flawed and has defended both boxers since the start of the Paris Games.

The situation is reflective of historical mistreatment of female athletes of colour, as they have faced disproportionate scrutiny and discrimination when it comes to sex testing and false claims that they are male or transgender, experts say.

Khelif did not lose a round on a judge's scorecard in Paris, going on the most dominant run of her boxing career since her first opponent, Angela Carini of Italy abandoned their bout after just 46 seconds, saying she was in too much pain from Khelif's punches.

Khelif defeated Yang Liu of