Iman Khelif, who was unfairly called a “transgender and a man,” became an Olympic champion.
Algerian boxer Iman Khelif, who was wrongly accused of being transgender, won a gold medal at the Olympic 2024 Games in Paris.
In the final, 25-year-old Khelif won a unanimous decision (5:0) against Chinese Liu Yang and won the first Olympic medal of her career.
At a press conference after winning the gold, Khelif commented on her success and emphasized that she was born and continues to be a woman, and all the attacks against her are absolutely unfounded.
“This gold medal is the best answer to the reproaches against me. I am a woman, like any woman. I was born one and I live like one, but there are enemies who cannot come to terms with my success,” Reuters quotes the Algerian boxer as saying.
Incroyable! Iman KHELIF DECROCHE THE MÉDAILLE D'OR FOR L'ALGÉRIE !!!
The joy of this yeux is the most beautiful response to everything that she has to do. pic.twitter.com/yhYoS2JJR2
— Union Algérienne ☪︎ (@UnionAlgerienne) August 9, 2024
Khelif became the victim of online bullying after Italian Angela Carini withdrew during a fight against her in the 1/8 finals of the women's boxing tournament in the weight category up to 66 kg. 46 seconds into the fight, Karini, who had taken a powerful blow from her opponent, refused to continue the fight.
When the winner was announced, Karini refused to shake her opponent's hand, then fell to her knees and burst into tears.
“I am used to suffering, but I have never received such blows, it is impossible to continue. I cannot say that it is illegal. I entered the ring to fight. But after the first minute I did not want to anymore. I began to feel a strong pain in my nose. I did not give up, but the blow was too painful, and I said that I had enough. I am going with my head held high,” the Italian commented on her withdrawal from the fight.
After this, Khelif was massively hated on social media, demanding her exclusion from the Olympics because she is allegedly “transgender and a man.” The reason for this was her disqualification from the 2023 World Championships, which was held under the auspices of the scandalous Russian Umar Kremlev of the International Boxing Association (IBA).
Kremlev stated that tests showed that Khelif had male XY chromosomes, but no evidence was provided. In turn, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed the Algerian to compete at the Paris Olympics, since she meets all the necessary criteria.
The situation with Khelif was actively used by Russian propaganda in order to discredit the Games in Paris. The same Kremlev cynically stated that the IBA would pay the “victimized” Italian a prize equal to the amount for a gold medal.
“I couldn't look at her tears. I am not indifferent to such situations, and I can assure you that we will protect every boxer. I don't understand why they are killing women's boxing. For safety reasons, only athletes who meet the requirements should compete in the ring,” the Russian official said.
It should be noted that Kremlev is an associate of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and has held the post of IBA president since December 2020; he previously headed the Russian Boxing Federation. In October 2022, the IBA returned athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus to competitions, allowing them to compete under the flags of the aggressor states. Russian and Belarusian officials, including judges, were also allowed to compete.
Earlier, the Ukrainian national team was banned from competing at the 2022 European Youth Championships under the national flag, forcing our boxers to compete exclusively under the IBA flag. Because of this, the Ukrainians staged a protest and refused to enter the ring. Amid a loud scandal, our team decided to immediately leave the continental championship.
In June 2023, the IOC expelled the IBA from its membership. 69 members of the International Olympic Committee voted for the expulsion of the pro-Russian organization, only one voted against.
The 2024 Olympic Games will last until August 11. The competition in the capital of France will feature 329 sets of medals in 32 sports. Ukraine is represented at the XXXIII Summer Olympics by 140 athletes competing in 23 sports.
Before the start of the penultimate day of competition, Ukraine has eleven awards at the 2024 Olympics: three gold, four silver and four bronze. The “blue-yellows” are in 18th place in the medal standings.
