Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has been the subject of some of the most hateful speech and conduct during the Paris Olympic Games, but the lasting image of the defiant fighter will be her celebrating in the middle of Roland Garros as her hand was raised as an Olympic gold medalist.
Khelif defeated Yang Liu of China, the same boxer she was scheduled to fight in the 2023 IBA World Championship final before being disqualified, by unanimous decision Friday to secure the gold medal in the women’s 66kg category.
All five judges scored the bout 30-27 in favor of Khelif.
Khelif got the job done with a mix of her trademark aggression and counter-punching that never fully allowed Yang to get comfortable throwing her own offense.
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After an opening round in which the two felt each other out while landing sporadic shots, Khelif walked down Yang in the second with stiff blows and capped off the fight with a third round that felt like a formality.
She saluted the cheering crowd as her arm was raised as Olympic champion.
The win capped off an Olympic performance defined as much by Khelif’s boxing skill as the attacks outside the ring centered on unfounded claims about her sex.
She navigated verbal and non-verbal vitriol from online right-wing dorks, major public figures and her own opponents throughout the competition, making misinformed and transphobic comments about her ability to compete based on secretive testing and unsubstantiated claims regarding alleged “gender tests” by the International Boxing Association about her sex, dating back to that 2023 suspension.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach defended both Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting’s right to participate multiple times over the course of the Paris Games while noting the severing of ties between the IOC and the IBA last year over governance and transparency issues.
“If somebody is presenting us a scientifically solid system how to identify men and women, we are the first ones to do it. We do not like this uncertainty,” Bach told the Associated Press Friday.
“What is not possible is someone saying ‘this is not a woman’ just by looking at somebody or by falling prey to a defamation campaign by a not credible organization with highly political interests.
“But this has no impact on our very clear position: women have the right to participate in women’s competitions. And the two are women.”
Khelif shared her perspective earlier in the week, calling for an end to the bullying of athletes.
“It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying,” she said. “God willing, this crisis will culminate in a gold medal, and that would be the best response.”
And respond she did. Khelif’s gold medal is the first in boxing for Algeria since 1996 and the second gold medal for Team Algeria overall at the Paris Games.
