The Shameful Controversy Over Olympic Boxer Imane Khelif

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the controversy surrounding Algerian boxer Imane Khelif's participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics, as she has been targeted by critics who have misgendered her throughout the Games.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Imane Khelif's Boxing Career

1. What are the key facts about Imane Khelif's boxing career?

• Imane Khelif is an Algerian boxer who has been boxing since she was a child and has always competed in women's categories.
• She competed in the Women's World Boxing Championships in New Delhi in 2018 (finishing in 17th place) and in Russia the following year.
• She competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, reaching the quarterfinals, and finished second in the 2022 Women's World Championships in Istanbul.

2. What controversy surrounded Khelif's participation in the 2023 World Cup?

• The Russia-led International Boxing Association (IBA), which is not recognized by the International Olympic Committee, disqualified Khelif after a gender eligibility test allegedly found she has XY chromosomes.
• The IBA president claimed that both Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting "were trying to deceive their colleagues and pretend to be women."
• Khelif has contested the allegations.

[02] Khelif's Participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics

1. How was Khelif's participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics resolved?

• Both Khelif and Lin were admitted to Olympic boxing competitions.
• The Boxing Unit and IOC stated that the IBA's ban on the athletes "was taken without any proper procedure" and that "such an approach is contrary to good governance."
• The IOC spokesperson said that the boxers "are completely eligible" and that "they are women on their passports, they are women who have competed in the Tokyo Olympics and have been competing for many years."

2. How did prominent figures on social media react to Khelif's participation?

• X owner Elon Musk amplified a tweet from swimmer Riley Gaines that "men don't belong in women's sports."
• Author J.K. Rowling falsely referred to Khelif as "a male who's knows he's protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he's just punched in the head."

3. What was the IOC's stance on the controversies surrounding Khelif's participation?

• The IOC stated that the "current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision" by the IBA and that "such an approach is contrary to good governance."
• The IOC spokesperson said that Khelif is "completely eligible" and that "they are women on their passports, they are women who have competed in the Tokyo Olympics and have been competing for many years."