Imane Khelif breaks silence on boxing gender row

Speaking to SNTV, the Algerian said the ‘bullying’ she had received since start of the Games ‘harms human dignity’

Imane Khelif, the boxer at the centre of the gender row at Paris 2024, has called for the world to stop bullying her, saying the Olympics scrutiny she has faced “harms human dignity”.
In her first full interview since finding herself in the eye of a storm, the Algerian, now guaranteed a medal, said her family are “worried about me”.
Khelif spoke out as the International Olympic Committee acknowledged it was warned in writing more than a year ago that she had the DNA of a “male”.
Mark Adams, spokesman for the IOC, confirmed the existence of an International Boxing Association (IBA) letter, but said the tests were not credible.
Khelif, however, says the furore is having “massive effects” as she called for restraint. “I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects,” Khelif told the sports broadcaster SNTV in Arabic. “It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying.”
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Despite both being disqualified by the IBA over gender eligibility, Khelif, who fights in the semi-final on Tuesday, and Lin Yu-ting have swept easily to medals.
The IOC has warned against the two boxers being “stigmatised” but the issue is certain to dominate again on Monday as the IBA – which is at war with the IOC – is holding a press conference.
Khelif, 25, described the pain of enduring this ordeal while competing far from home. “I am in contact with my family two days a week. I hope that they weren’t affected deeply,” she said. “They are worried about me. God willing, this crisis will culminate in a gold medal, and that would be the best response.”
The IBA told the Olympics in June last year of its test results on Khelif. One test in India last year and a prior test in Turkey in May 2022 “concluded the boxer’s DNA was that of a male consisting of XY chromosomes,” the IBA correspondence in June 2023 said.
However, the IOC insisted that the tests should be regarded as illegitimate as they were conducted on an ad-hoc basis in the middle of last year’s World Championship.
“I know that the Olympic Committee has done me justice, and I am happy with this remedy because it shows the truth,” added Khelif, who cried “I am a woman” to journalists after her last bout.
“I don’t care about anyone’s opinion. I came here for a medal, and to compete for a medal. I will certainly be competing to improve (and) be better, and God willing, I will improve, like every other athlete.”
“I couldn’t control my nerves. Because after the media frenzy and after the victory, there was a mix of joy and at the same time, I was greatly affected, because honestly, it wasn’t an easy thing to go through at all. It was something that harms human dignity.”
Fairness-for-sport campaigners have been outraged by fights in recent days, with both boxers easing past their opponents.
But IOC president Thomas Bach and his spokesman Adams have poured scorn on the IBA for allegedly fuelling the flames around the furore. The IOC and the IBA organisations have been at war since 2019, when the IBA was suspended as the body leading Olympic boxing.
On Saturday, the IBA announced it would award prize money to Angela Carini, whose fight against Khelif was ended in 46 seconds, “as if she were an Olympic champion”.
Adams said that the IBA, run by Moscow-born administrator Umar Kremlev, has “no credibility”. The IBA was stripped of its status as boxing’s world governing body last year. That decision came four months after the body disqualified Khelif and Lin from the 2023 World Championships. Kremlev last year described the IOC leadership as “prostitutes in sports who get involved in politics”.