Imane Khelif continues to thrive after winning Olympic gold amid gender controversy

J.K. Rowling, Elon Musk and Logan Paul criticized the decision to let Khelif compete.

Imane Khelif secured the Olympic gold medal in the women’s boxing 66-kilogram (145-pound) division on Friday, defeating China’s Yang Liu. 

The victory was celebrated with Khelif atop her coach’s shoulders, arms raised in triumph, as the audience at Roland Garros stadium cheered.

However, Khelif’s journey to Olympic glory was not without controversy. Her path was clouded by a dispute surrounding her gender, which erupted after a match against Italian boxer Angela Carini. 

Carini abandoned the bout just 46 seconds in, following a series of strong blows from Khelif. This incident led to a false social media claim that Khelif was transgender, igniting an online debate about her eligibility to compete in the women’s category.

GLAAD and InterACT, along with reports from the Associated Press, confirmed that Khelif is a cisgender woman, assigned female at birth. 

Despite this, the controversy persisted, with figures like Logan Paul falsely asserting that Khelif was male. Paul later retracted his statement, acknowledging the misinformation, but other public figures, including J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk, continued to criticize the decision to allow Khelif to compete.

In response to the controversy, Khelif spoke to SNTV, expressing her hope that her gold medal win would be the best response to the critics. 

She also urged the public to uphold Olympic principles and avoid bullying athletes, emphasizing the significant impact such actions can have.

Khelif’s victory was a unanimous decision, with all five judges scoring the match 10-9 in her favor, according to the New York Times. A large crowd of Algerian supporters in the stadium celebrated her win with chants of “allez Imane” and “1, 2, 3 Algérie!” 

Khelif expressed her gratitude, saying, “I’m very happy, God made that (happen), that’s my dream!” She also thanked her supporters, her coach, and Team Algeria.