Paris Olympics 2024: Imane Khelif wins boxing gold after being at centre of gender controversy

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has claimed gold at the Paris Olympics, emerging as a champion from a tumultuous run including huge scrutiny over her eligibility.

Khelif beat Yang Liu of China 5-0 in the women’s welterweight division gold medal bout on Friday night in Paris, wrapping up the best series of fights of her boxing career with victory at Roland Garros.

France’s huge Algerian community embraced Khelif through the Games, with the coverted Philippe-Chartier Court - which usually hosts the French Open tennis major - roaring with chants of “Imane, Imane” for her final fight.

Outside of competition venues, she faced extraordinary levels of criticism.

World leaders including Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni, major celebrities and more questioned her eligibility or falsely claimed she was a man, thrusting Khelif into a larger divide over changing attitudes toward gender identity and regulations in sports.

Khelif said the level of abuse “harms human dignity,” and that a gold medal would be “the best response” to the backlash.

Khelif secured that victory emphatically, starting strongest and winning on all five official scorecards.

After winning, she jumped into her coaches’ arms before one of them put her on his shoulders and carried her around the arena in a wildly-enjoyed victory lap.

“I am fully qualified to take part in this competition. I am a woman,” she said at the post-fight press conference.

“I was born a woman, I’ve lived as a woman and I’ve competed as a woman.

“There’s no doubt that there are enemies of success, and that gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.”

The win is the biggest of Khelif’s career after she exited the Tokyo Games at the quarter-finals and lost a 2022 world championship final.

Last year, both Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting were disqualified from the world championships by the Russia-controlled International Boxing Association (IBA), which claimed they failed an eligibility test for the women’s competition.

The IBA, which has been banned from running boxing at the Olympics, has not released further information on the tests.

Lin could also win gold in Paris, facing Julia Szeremeta of Poland in the women’s 57kg division on Saturday night.

The IOC has repeatedly reaffirmed the two boxers’ right to compete in Paris, with President Thomas Bach personally defending Khelif and fellow two-time Olympian Li Yu-ting of Taiwan, who was also dragged into the debate, calling the criticism “hate speech”.

“We have two boxers who are born as women, who have been raised as women, who have a passport as a woman and have competed for many years as women,” Bach said.

Khelif’s first-up opponent, Italian Angela Carini of Italy, abandoned their bout after just 46 seconds, saying she had “never felt” a stronger punch.

Carini later apologised, saying she made the comments while upset in the aftermath of her Olympic exit.

Amid the fury, Khelif has also had backing from other boxers, notably former opponent and world champion Amy Broadhurst.

“Very happy for Imane Khelif ... weathered the storm and got what she deserved,” the Irish boxer posted on social media.

Khelif grew up in a village near the western Algerian city of Tiaret, with local media reporting the 25-year-old sold scrap metal and couscous to afford the bus fare to the nearest gym so she could train.

She is just the second person and first woman to win an Olympic gold for Algeria in boxing, following Hocine Soltani’s 1996 triumph.