Paris 2024, Khelif: “Born a woman, lived as a woman, competed as a woman. My honor is now safe”

Paris 2024, Imane Khelif after the gold medal: “Born a woman, lived as a woman, competed as a woman”

“I am a woman like all the others.” Imane Khelif enjoys her gold medal in boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics and, once and for all, claims the legitimacy of her participation in the Games. The 25-year-old Algerian boxer was, despite herself, one of the characters of the five-ring event. Her exclusion from the 2023 World Championships for an unspecified gender test became a topic of discussion in Paris. Amid ongoing controversy, the legitimacy of Khelif’s presence in a women’s competition was called into question.

“I have made many statements: I can compete or not, I am a woman or not… I have fully participated in this competition, I am a woman like all the others. I was born a woman, I have lived as a woman, I have competed as a woman: there is no doubt. Those who say otherwise are against my success, they are enemies of success. And these attacks give a special flavor to my victory,” he said. “My honor is safe, but the attacks I saw on social media were terrible. They had no basis, they attacked the dignity of the person. I think people’s ideas have changed now,” he added.

Khelif also answered questions about his exclusion from the World Championships organized by the IBA, an organization not recognized by the IOC. “Since 2018 I have been competing in boxing competitions under their aegis, they know me well. They know what I can do, they know how much I have grown over the years. Now, apparently, they don’t know that anymore. They hate me and I don’t know why. I send them only one message: with this gold, my dignity and my honor are above everything.”