Imane Khelif attributed her gold medal-winning performance in the Olympic women’s welterweight boxing final to “eight years of work” and “eight years of no sleep” following weeks of scrutiny and misconceptions about her gender.
“Yes, it’s my dream, I’m very happy,” the 25-year-old Algerian told the BBC through an interpreter. “My family is happy. All of Algeria is happy today. Eight years of work. Eight years without sleep… Today I’m very happy to win the gold medal.”
Khelif defeated China’s Yang Liu 5-0 in the final of the women’s welterweight division, closing out the best series of fights of her boxing career with a victory at Roland Garros, where crowds chanted her name, waved Algerian flags and roared every time she landed a punch.
After her unanimous victory, Khelif leapt into the arms of her coaches, one of whom put her on his shoulders and carried her around the stadium on a victory lap as she pumped her fists and grabbed an Algerian flag from someone in the crowd.
Khelif completely dominated the fight in Paris, winning every round on every judge’s scorecard in each of her three fights that went the distance. But it was the fight that didn’t go the distance – her win over Italy’s Angela Carini – that sparked controversy. Carini walked out of the fight after just 46 seconds, saying she was in too much pain from Khelif’s punches.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif kisses her medal as silver medallist Liu Yang of China laughs
Algerian Imane Khelif reacts after beating China’s Yang Liu
Imane Khelif of Algeria hits Liu Yang of the People’s Republic of China during the final
A story that was already brewing suddenly became international news, with figures including former US President Donald Trump and Harry Potter author JK Rowling criticising and falsely speculating about competition between men and women in the sport. Carini later said she regretted her actions and wanted to apologise to Khelif.
That controversy seemed irrelevant on Friday, as Khelif was celebrating with his fellow Algerians, many of whom were present in Paris.
“Yes, I want to thank all the people from Algeria who have come to Paris,” said Khelif, who was assigned the gender “female” at birth and is always listed as female in her passport, the International Olympic Committee’s eligibility threshold.
‘I want to thank the people of Algeria all over the world!’
Khelif has undoubtedly been one of the most polarizing people at the Paris Olympics.
Fans have embraced Khelif in Paris, even as she faced an extraordinary amount of scrutiny from world leaders, major celebrities and others who questioned her eligibility or falsely claimed she was a man. This has pushed her into a larger divide over changing attitudes toward gender identity and regulations in sports.
That continued Friday night when Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer and critic of trans women in sports, continued to accuse Khelif of being a man. (Again, Khelif is not trans and was assigned the “female” gender at birth.)
“Ask yourselves what this is teaching the next generation,” Gaines wrote in X. “It’s teaching boys that it’s okay (in fact, encouraged and rewarded) to hit women. It’s teaching girls to ignore their instincts, to accept abuse with a smile on their face and not dare question it… or else.”
Imane Khelif of Algeria celebrates her victory against Liu Yang of China
Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines continued to accuse Khelif of being a man.
Last weekend, Khelif had told SNTV, a sports video partner of The Associated Press, that a gold medal would be “the best response” to the backlash against her. She also said the wave of hate-filled scrutiny she has received “damages human dignity” and called for an end to harassment of athletes.
But the reports from Algeria were decidedly more favourable.
“Algerian women continue to make us proud,” reads a post from one of the country’s top football accounts, Argelia FC.
“It takes incredible mental strength to compete at a high level after receiving all that hate and overcome it with a good performance,” wrote one fan. “Well deserved gold for Imane Khelif.”
Much of the controversy stems from the decision by the Russia-dominated International Boxing Association to disqualify Khelif and her compatriot and two-time Olympian Li Yu-ting of Taiwan from last year’s world championships, alleging both failed a murky eligibility test for women’s competition.
Last year, the International Olympic Committee took the unprecedented step of permanently banning the IBA from the Olympic Games following years of concerns about its governance, competitive fairness and financial transparency. The IOC has called the sport’s governing body’s arbitrary sex testing of the two boxers irremediable.
Others congratulated Khelif on his victory after two weeks of controversy.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif is examined after the match against China’s Liu Yang
The IOC has repeatedly reaffirmed the two boxers’ right to compete in Paris, with President Thomas Bach personally defending Khelif and Lin, calling the criticism “hate speech.”
“We have two boxers who were born as women, who were raised as women, who have a female passport and who have competed for many years as women,” Bach said.
That hasn’t stopped international outrage linked to misconceptions about boxers, which has been amplified by Russian disinformation networks. Nor has it stopped two boxers who have performed at the highest level of their careers under media scrutiny.
Khelif’s gold medal is Algeria’s first in women’s boxing. She is the second gold medallist for her country, along with Hocine Soltani (1996), and earned Algeria’s seventh Olympic gold medal in history.
While Khelif attracted enthusiastic, flag-clad supporters in Paris, she has also become a heroine in her North African country. Many have seen the world’s dissection of Khelif as a critique of her nation.
Khelif’s fight was dubbed “The Night of Destiny” in local newspapers and projection screens were set up to watch the fight in public squares in Algiers and other cities. In the town of Tiaret, in the region where Khelif is from, workers braved the scorching summer heat to paint a mural of Khelif in the gym where he learned to box.
“Imane has been able to take advantage of the criticism and attacks on her femininity,” says Mustapha Bensaou, from the Tiaret gym. “The slander has given her a boost… It’s a kind of blessing in disguise.”
Khelif won the first round against Yang on all five judges’ scorecards despite showing slightly less aggression than he had earlier in the tournament. Khelif then knocked Yang to the ropes with a combination early in the second round, though Yang countered with a flurry of punches and fought back valiantly.
Khelif won the second round and swept the third, staying far enough away from Yang to avoid any serious threat. Khelif made a triumphant boxer’s gesture in the final seconds of the fight before the boxers embraced. When the verdict was announced, Khelif saluted and then waved his arm in glee.
Khelif smiled broadly during the medal ceremony and waved to the crowd. She sang Algeria’s national anthem passionately before kissing her gold medal. The four medalists (boxing awards two bronze) posed for a selfie on the podium, joining hands and raising them together.
The gold medal bout was the culmination of Khelif’s nine-day run at an Olympic tournament that began with a bizarre event.
Khelif has never performed as well in another international tournament as she has at these Olympics. When pundits and hecklers who had never seen her fight described her last week as some kind of unstoppable punching machine, opponents and teammates who knew her were shocked by the characterization.
She then lived up to her ambition of becoming one of the world’s best Olympic boxers.
Lin will also be fighting for a gold medal on Saturday on the final day of the Olympics. She will face Julia Szeremeta of Poland and have a chance to win Taiwan’s first boxing gold.
