Olympic discourse took a somewhat transphobic turn this week as internet trolls political leaders, billionaire businessmen, and everyone in between banded together to rage against Algerian athlete Imane Khelif. The outcry began during her opening bout at the Paris Games on Thursday after Italian opponent Angela Carini tearfully abandoned the fight after just 46 seconds.
Who is Imane Khelif?
Khelif is an Algerian professional boxer who represented her country in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and is currently competing in Paris. She has won numerous gold medals at various boxing championships and made it to the finals of the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in March 2023.
Why was she disqualified in 2023?
Khelif was disqualified hours before her gold medal bout in New Delhi after failing to meet the eligibility criteria set by the International Boxing Association. The Algerian Olympic Committee cited ‘medical reasons’ for the expulsion while later reports quoting the International Olympic Committee indicated that she had failed a testosterone level test.
“Based on the results of DNA tests, we identified a number of athletes who tried to deceive their colleagues and pretended to be women. Based on the results of the tests, it was proven that they have XY chromosomes. Such athletes were excluded from the competition,” IBA president Umar Kremlev told Russian news agency Tass in March last year.
What changed before the Paris Olympics?
She was eventually cleared to contest the Paris Olympics after the IOC took over the screening process. The International Boxing Association (which handed Khelif her initial disqualification) is no longer recognised by the Olympic committee. The IOC has also said the IBA decision to disqualify them last year was arbitrary
It is however pertinent to note that the athlete profile shared on the IOC internal system (provided to journalists in Paris) acknowledges that Khelif was disqualified last year “after her elevated levels of testosterone failed to meet the eligibility criteria”.
What has the Olympic committee said?
“We are talking about women’s boxing. We have two boxers who were born as women, raised as women, who have passports as women and who have competed for many years as women and this is a clear definition of a woman. There was never any doubt about them being women,” Thomas Bach told a press conference.
Meanwhile the International Boxing Association said it would award Italy’s Angela Carini $50,000 in prize money after she abandoned her fight against Khelif in the opening minute of the Paris 2024 round of 16 bout.
