In the bustling streets of Algeria, thousands celebrated Imane Khelif’s gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics. As she stood on top of her coaches shoulders in the olympic stadium, it was evident that Khelif’s journey is a statement of resilience amidst controversy.
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif completed this Olympic season by winning the Gold medal in the womens 66 kilogram (145 lb) division, beating Yang Liu of china. Despite her success, following her first win against Angela Carini of Italy, she faced countless accusations claiming she was ineligible to compete in the women’s division. She described these accusations as bullying, and since then has filed a lawsuit in which she cites “aggravated cyber-harassment.” Her lawsuit names influential figures J.K Rowling and Elon Musk amongst others.
Many people defended their claims that Imane Khelif was ineligible to compete in the women’s division by describing how she was disqualified from the 2023 world championships after the International Boxing Association (IBA) found her unsuitable to compete against other women. The IBA stated that her and another boxer, Lin Yu Ting would be unable to compete because they have, “competitive advantages over other female competitors.” The IBA failed to thoroughly explain the exact advantages and tests. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) cleared Khelif and Lin to compete after unapproving the IBA for its governance issues, alleged corruption, ties to Russia and a lack of transparency.
The primary controversy surrounding Khelif’s win centers on fairness; concerns over whether Khelif has an unfair advantage and scientific uncertainty on how gender affects athletic performance. Her coach, Mohammed Chaoua, responded by saying in a cafe outside the Olympic Village, “We have worked hard over the past two years.” He then stated that Khelif is a woman and that she would be a champion.
Mohammed Chaoua has coached Khelif since she was a teenager, and he says she is like a daughter to him. Imane Khelif was born a woman and, since day one, has always identified and been identified as one. Because of this, she had to overcome challenges just to be able to compete in boxing, a male-dominated sport. Her uncle, Rachid Jabeur believes that her tough childhood may have significantly contributed to the mental strength which allowed her to overcome criticism and win the Olympics.
When she was two months old she moved to a rural village in the Tiaret province of Algeria, where traditionally only boys leave the house to play, with girls rarely leaving. She was discovered by a local boxing coach who was impressed by her “physical qualities” and she was invited to train at a sports center, about six miles away from her home. Since she came from a poor family, she and her mother had to sell scrap metal and other goods to raise money for the bus trips to and from the sports center and the cost of training.
Despite this, Imane Khelif still faced gender discrimination. Many locals in her home village questioned why she was allowed to travel alone as a girl, leading her father to question whether or not he should allow her training to continue. He eventually agreed to let her stay with her uncle who lived closer to the center. Even after staying with her uncle in the city, she still faced harassment because it was uncommon for girls to participate in boxing. Her male cousins were told to accompany her to and from the training center to protect her.
About four years after moving in with her uncle, she advanced to national boxing matches and was able to support her family financially. Synonymous to her journey to national boxing matches, her path to the Olympic gold medal was anything but smooth and once again marred by gender controversy.
In the 2023 World Boxing Championships, Khelif along with Lin Yu-Ting were disqualified from competing after failing gender eligibility tests administered by the IBA. At a chaotic news conference this August, shortly after the controversy surrounding Khelif resurfaced, the IBA further confused viewers about the athletes eligibility. After technical difficulties delayed the start of the conference, Chief executive Chris Roberts explained that they were first tested in the 2022 World Championships but the results came back as inconclusive, thus allowing them to compete. Roberts later clarified they were disqualified in 2023 because of chromosome tests, saying, “The results of the chromosome tests demonstrated both boxers were ineligible.”
On the other hand, at the same conference IBA president Umar Kremlev had a different claim. He said, “We got the test results that they allowed us to take themselves and these tests show they have a high level of testosterone like a man. Man’s level of testosterone.” Testosterone is a hormone that can increase muscle strength and chromosomes carry genetic information including the person’s sex. Apart from this, they did not further clarify on the results of the test, nor had they released the results to an appropriately accredited organization.
In response to the IBA, the IOC has taken a firm stance against them. In June 2023 the IOC decided to withdraw recognition of the IBA as the sports world governing body. This was because of the constant failure of the IBA in financial transparency, integrity of officials and governance issues which raised questions about the management of funds, trust in the organization, and the effectiveness of structure. The IBA has additionally faced scrutiny because of its Russian connections and sponsors. The Court of Arbitration for Sport had recently upheld the IOC’s decision in April of 2024, dismissing an appeal from the IBA.
The IOC recently said in a statement, “The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving, every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination.” The IOC then explained that the two athletes were subject to an arbitrary and sudden decision towards the end of the championships which was not conducted fairly.
This sudden decision by the IBA has been the fuel for what Khelif describes as bullying and “aggravated cyber harassment” in a lawsuit. The lawsuit names J.K Rowling, who took to Twitter (now known as X) and posted a picture from Khelif’s fight with Angela Carini. Rowling captured the photo, “Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who 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.”
After being advised by legal advisors to refrain from making public comments on the matter, Rowling returned to X. She retweeted a post of an article titled, ‘Imane Khelif Launches Hyper-Feminizing PR Campaign as a Distraction,’ from realityslaststand.com. She wrote, “It’s important to highlight that launching a PR campaign and applying layers of thick makeup requires far more time and effort than simply making DNA tests public.”
Elon Musk had retweeted a post from swimmer Riley Gaines that stated “men don’t belong in women’s sports,” Musk agreeing and writing “absolutely.”
Many people, including experts and advocates, have condemned the harassment Khelif faced, saying that it is anti-trans violence now being directed to women. Others agreed, saying that the deep focus on Khelif reflects bias and the policing of women’s bodies, especially those of color.
In a survey of Bronx Science students, many upheld Imane Khelif, agreeing that she was treated unfairly in light of this Olympic season. Matthew Emer ’26 who identifies as they/them said, “She was treated unfairly because she became the target of many people on a bandwagon against transgender rights rights, even though she is a cisgender woman. The hate against her is completely unwarranted.”
Gwyneth Mahase ’27 also agreed with this point. She said, “The tests that the IBA conducted which found extra testosterone in her system were not transparent. No one knows much about how the test was performed, or who analyzed it. So I don’t think it’s fair that the rest of her career is in the shadow of this.”
Other students disagreed with these notions, though most of the disagreement seemed to stem from the confusion of whether or not Khelif is biologically male or female which has resulted from the lack of transparency from the IBA. It is also worth noting that in the survey that I conducted, of the 33.8% of respondents who felt Imane Khelif was not treated unfairly, 70% of them identified as male, though male-identifying people only made up half of the survey. This correlates with a study, Measuring Discrimination Against Transgender People at the University of the Basque Country and in a Non-University Sample in Spain which found, “more negative attitudes toward transgender people in men than in women.”
Overall, this controversy connects to the broader issues of gender policing in sports, racial and gender discrimination, and ethical standards in sports industries. In February 2024, a Utah state school board member falsely accused a high school basketball player of being transgender. This girl quickly became a target for harassment and threats by strangers on the internet, who knew little about her situation.
The gender debate in sports is very polarized, with some strongly opposing transgender athletes and others advocating for the inclusion of transgender athletes in sports categories. When asked to explain their opinion on the gender debate in sports, which they believed important to be addressed, many had varying opinions on the way it should be dealt with. Emer said, “As a gender non-conforming person myself, I still believe that in order to create a fair environment for all, sports leagues should be determined by biological sex assigned at birth, rather than gender.”
Specific information regarding Imane Khelif’s biological gender remains uncertain. What is certain is that her journey to the gold medal as a woman was marked by ever-present controversy surrounding her gender eligibility to compete. When she was young she faced scrutiny for her participation in a “boys sport” as a girl, and presently she faces scrutiny for seeming too much like a man in a woman’s sport.
Despite all of this, she had remained undeterred throughout the games and fought her way through until the end, ultimately defeating Yang Liu of China and winning gold, and she remains determined to continue competing successfully. In a press conference on October 20th, 2024, per numerous reports, she stated, “I will soon enter the world of professional boxing.”
“The tests that the IBA conducted which found extra testosterone in her system were not transparent. No one knows much about how the test was performed, or who analyzed it. So I don’t think it’s fair that the rest of her career is in the shadow of this,” said Gwyneth Mahase ’27.