Imane Khelif won Olympic women’s boxing gold a year after being disqualified from the World Championships for reportedly failing a gender eligibility test.
The Algerian, amid a controversy that has overshadowed the boxing events in Paris, beat Chinese world champion Yang Liu by unanimous decision to win the welterweight division.
The 25-year-old was roared to the ring by swathes of Algerian support – who waved their green, white and red flags – and dominated the fight.
She was showboating at the bell, dancing while already knowing the victory was hers, before the pair shared a warm embrace.
“It is my dream. I am very happy,” Khelif told the BBC. “It is fantastic. Amazing.
“Eight years of work, no sleep. I want to thank all of the people in Algeria.
“I am very happy for my performance. I am a strong woman.”
When the result was confirmed, Yang raised her opponent’s arm into the air – a sharp contrast to the scenes after Khelif’s opening fight against Italy’s Angela Carini – and Khelif was then carried around a jubilant arena on the shoulders of her coach.
Lin Yu-ting, the second boxer banned last year under the same ruling, will fight in her final on Saturday but Khelif’s Games – one of the most extraordinary and controversial in recent memory – ended with her standing on top of the podium.
She was applauded by all three of her fellow medallists and there were tears in her eyes as the Algerian anthem was played.
How did we get here?
Carini abandoned in Khelif’s opening bout after 46 seconds, saying she had to “preserve” her life.
The Algerian, whose previous best result was a world silver in 2022, followed that with convincing, unanimous-decision victories to reach this stage.
This was expected to be a tougher bout – Yang represented a step-up in class – but it proved to be another clear victory.
Yang was due to face Khelif in the final of last year’s World Championship – a title Wang went on to win – but Khelif was disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA), meaning they did not meet.
The IBA said Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, who contests her final on Saturday, “failed to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in the women’s competition, as set and laid out in the IBA regulations”.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which runs the boxing events at the Olympics, has allowed the pair to compete and strongly criticised the IBA, insisting Khelif and Lin were “born and raised as women”.
President Thomas Bach said earlier on Friday the organisation “does not like the uncertainty” but suggested there is not a “scientifically solid system” to “identify men and women”.
Image source: Reuters
Image caption: Khelif won in front of thousands of Algerian fans on court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros – the tennis court that has been transformed into a boxing arena for the Olympics
Many of the pair’s opponents and coaching teams have been unhappy with their involvement, however, indicating a level of discontent behind the scenes.
Carini said it “was not right” immediately after her loss to Khelif, although she later apologised for how she handled the moments after the fight. Her coach said he had advised her not to fight, saying people had told her not to “fight a man”.
Before the next round, opponent Anna Luca Hamori from Hungary said: “I don’t think it is fair”, while the Hungarian Boxing Association protested about Khelif’s inclusion. After the fight Hamori wished Khelif good luck.
Neither her semi-final opponent, Janjaem Suwannapheng, nor the Thailand’s boxer team made any direct comment on the controversy, though Suwannapheng said after the fight: “She is a woman but very strong.”
Two of Lin’s opponents, meanwhile, have made ‘X’ gestures – said to be intended to represent female chromosomes – in the ring after defeat.
Svetlana Kamenova Staneva left the arena saying “no, no, no” and made the ‘X’ sign.
Before the fight, the Bulgarian had said it was “not good for boxing”, while her boxing federation said they “strongly” opposed Lin and Khelif’s participation in Paris 2024.
After Lin’s semi-final victory over Esra Yildiz Kahraman, the Turkish fighter also made the ‘X’ sign in the centre of the ring.