What we know about the Imane Khelif Olympic boxing gender controversy
Khelif, 25, who eased to Olympic boxing gold on Friday in the women's welterweight division, said questions over her eligibility made victory taste even sweeter.
Imane Khelif has named Elon Musk and JK Rowling in a lawsuit that alleges “acts of aggravated cyber harassment” over the boxer’s inclusion in the female category at the Paris Olympics.
Khelif won Olympic boxing gold in the women's welterweight division, beating China’s reigning world champion Yang Liu. The 25-year-old – who said questions over her eligibility made victory taste even sweeter – filed a legal complaint in France for online harassment.
Now, Khelif’s lawyer Nabil Boudi has confirmed to Variety that X owner Musk and Harry Potter author Rowling are both named in the criminal complaint posted to the anti-online hatred centre of the public prosecutor's office in France. He also stated that Donald Trump may also be included in the investigation.
Boudi wrote on X: “JK Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others…
“Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution.”
Boudi said that major figures had been named so that the “prosecution has all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people”.
He said Khelif was targeted by a “misogynist, racist and sexist campaign”.
The French prosecutor’s office said it had received the complaint and its Office for the Fight against Crimes against Humanity and Hate Crime. They said they had opened an investigation on charges of “cyber harassment based on gender, public insults based on gender, public incitement to discrimination and public insults on the basis of origin”.
Watch: Warm Welcome in Algeria for Returned Olympic Team
Boxing has been in the spotlight following an international storm over the participation of Khelif – who beat Angela Carini of Italy in just 46 seconds in the opening bout – as well as Chinese Taipei featherweight Lin Yu-ting in the Paris Olympics.
So, what's going on?
What sparked the controversy?
Khelif and Lin, from Taiwan, were cleared to compete in women’s boxing at the Paris Olympics having been disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi for failing to meet gender eligibility criteria.
The International Boxing Association (IBA), which runs the world championships, said DNA tests had “proved they had XY chromosomes and were thus excluded". Those tests have not been made public.
Neither athlete is transgender. They were born as females and have previously competed in women's boxing competitions without issue.
The test Khelif failed was only announced after she beat the previously undefeated Russian competitor Azalia Amineva. The IBA never released the details of the test or even said what test she took. After Khelif was disqualified from the tournament Amineva's undefeated status was restored.
Khelif at the time said she was the victim of a "big conspiracy" and the disqualification was criticised by the Olympic committee.
The IBA has since been expelled by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over financial and corruption concerns. Last year’s IBA competition was also the subject of controversy after it was boycotted by multiple nations because Russian and Belarusian athletes were allowed to compete amid the Ukraine war. IBA president Umar Kremlev is Russian and has links to Vladimir Putin.
The IOC cleared Khelif and Lin to compete in Paris and said the IBA's decision had been made without “proper procedure”.
However, the controversy flared up again on 1 August when Carini quit 46 seconds into her preliminary round of 16 bout against Khelif. Carini said she was in “extreme pain” and later told journalists she had “never felt a punch like this”.
Some have speculated whether one or both of the athletes has a differences in sex development (DSD) condition, though it is not believed either competitor has commented to either confirm or deny that.
Who is Imane Khelif?
Khelif, 25, was born as a girl and has always competed in female boxing competitions, including at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where she finished just outside the medal positions.
Khelif is a UNICEF national ambassador for Algeria, with the agency reporting earlier this year how growing up in her village, boys would pick fights with her – and "it was her ability to dodge the boys’ punches that got her into boxing".
What did Khelif say about the row?
“I am fully qualified to take part in this competition," said Khelif at the post-fight press conference. "I am a woman.
“I was born a woman, I’ve lived as a woman and I’ve competed as a woman. There’s no doubt that there are enemies of success, and that gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.
Khelif added: “Since 2018 I’ve been boxing under the umbrella of the IBA. They know me very well and what I’m capable of. But now they are not recognised anymore and they hate me, and I don’t know why. I sent them a single message with this gold medal.
“My message to the whole world is that they should commit to Olympic principles and they should not bully people. I hope that people will stop bullying, and I hope we will not see similar attacks in future Olympics.”
Who is Lin Yu-ting?
Lin, of Chinese Taipei, the name Taiwan competes under in the Olympics, lost a bronze medal at last year's world championships after she also failed to meet the IBA's eligibility criteria.
The 28-year-old, according to BoxRec, has been competing since 2013 and won in her weight category in the 2022 world championships, which were also held by the IBA.
And amid the eligibility row at this Olympics, Lin won gold on Saturday night after beating Poland’s Julia Szeremeta in the women’s 57kg final by unanimous decision.
She revealed afterwards that she shut herself away from outside noise during the competition, saying at a press conference: “As an elite athlete during the competition it’s important to shut myself off from social media and to focus.
“Some of the noises and some of the news articles, of course I heard some of the information through my coach but I didn’t pay too much mind to it. I was invited by the IOC to compete in the Games, I focused on the Games."
How did Lin and Khelif's opponents react to the row?
Italy's Carini, who refused to shake Khelif's hand after her defeat and told her corner "it's not fair", has since said she is sorry. "All this controversy makes me sad," she said. "I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision."
Before facing Khelif in the quarter-final, Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori wrote on social media: "In my humble opinion, I don't think it's fair that this contestant can compete in the women's category. But I cannot concern myself with that now. I cannot change it, it's life."
After losing to Lin in the quarter-finals, Bulgarian Svetlana Staneva pointed to herself and made an X symbol with her fingers, in what has been interpreted as a reference to female chromosomes. Kahraman did the same after the semi-final.
What did the Olympics bosses say?
At a press conference last week, IOC president Thomas Bach spoke out against the "hate speech" aimed at Lin and Khelif over social media.
He said: "We have two boxers who are born as a woman, who have been raised as a woman, who have a passport as a woman and who have competed for many years as a woman. This is the clear definition of a woman. There was never any doubt about them being a woman."
Regarding eligibility of gender rules for competing in the boxing at Paris 2024, the IOC said in a statement addressing the controversy: "As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport."
