Imane Khelif of Algeria, a boxer whose gender identity has recently come under scrutiny, secured her first victory at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. Khelif won against Angela Carini of Italy when Carini quit 46 seconds into the match. After only a few punches were exchanged, Carini stopped the fight, avoided shaking Khelif’s hand, and fell to the floor in tears.
Khelif’s participation in Olympic women’s boxing has been under recent scrutiny due to reports that she and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan failed gender eligibility tests at last year’s Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi. Officials alleged that both boxers failed an unspecified test due to having male chromosomes.
Khelif, 25, has always competed as a woman, including in the Tokyo Olympics, and there is no indication that she identifies as transgender or intersex. Carini explained that she ended the fight on Thursday because of “severe pain” in her nose and stated that she is not qualified to judge Khelif’s eligibility to compete.
“I am not here to judge or pass judgment,” Carini told reporters after the match. “If an athlete is this way, and in that sense it’s not right or it is right, it’s not up to me to decide.”
“We must be careful that in our efforts to avoid discrimination, we don’t end up discriminating against women,” said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during her visit to the Olympic Village. “In these cases, dedication, mental strength, and character matter, but having equal conditions is crucial.”
Several American politicians, including former President Donald Trump, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, also shared their views on the match.
“I WILL KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS!” Trump proclaimed on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Imane Khelif’s Win Sparks Reactions from Controversial Figures
“Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling repeatedly referred to Khelif as “male” and called the match a “brutal injustice” in a series of posts on X.
Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of 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, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered. #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/Q5SbKiksXQ
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 1, 2024
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who has been criticized for comments about his estranged trans daughter, also commented on X, which he owns. Responding to a post featuring a video of the fight that read “Kamala supports this…vote accordingly,” Musk, who endorsed Trump last month, replied: “True or let her deny it.”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 1, 2024
Despite the largely critical responses online, Imane Khelif did receive some support.
Ismaël Bennacer, a member of the Algerian national soccer team, was among those who defended Khelif. “Full support for our champion Imane Khelif, who is suffering a wave of unjustified hatred,” he posted on X.
“Her presence at the Olympic Games is simply the result of her talent and hard work.” Khelif celebrated her win on social media, sharing a photo of herself from Thursday’s fight on Instagram with the caption, “first Victory.”
She did not address the criticisms in the post and has previously called her disqualification from last year’s world championships a “conspiracy.”
On Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued a statement criticizing the backlash against Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin during the Olympics and the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) decision to disqualify them from last year’s Women’s World Boxing Championships.
“The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure — especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years,” the statement read. “Such an approach is contrary to good governance.”
The IOC also noted in its statement that it withdrew recognition of the IBA last year due to governance and financial transparency issues, as well as perceived instances of corruption. For the Paris 2024 Olympics, the IOC uses the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit — an ad-hoc unit it developed — for eligibility standards. The IOC stated, “As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport.”
The Algerian Olympic and Sports Committee did not respond to requests for comment about the criticisms surrounding Khelif’s win.
Abderrahmane Hammad, Algeria’s minister of youth and sports, addressed concerns over Khelif’s gender identity on Wednesday. “I strongly condemn the baseless attacks on our athlete, Imane Khelif, by certain foreign outlets,” he wrote on X. “These cowardly attempts to tarnish her reputation are utterly unacceptable.”
On Thursday, the Algerian Olympic and Sports Committee took to social media to celebrate Khelif’s victory. “We are proud of you and excited to see you continue to excel in the upcoming stages,” said one of the translated posts on Facebook. Khelif is set to face Hungary’s Luca Anna Hamori in the women’s 66-kilogram quarterfinals on Saturday.
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