A former boxing opponent of Imane Khelif has claimed the Olympic champion is a “man” and suggested the Algerian has been “biologically altered.”
Khelif’s journey to Olympic champion in Paris has played out against a backdrop of controversy and backlash about her participation. The Algerian, alongside Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-ting, won gold after previously being kicked out of the World Championships in 2023 by the International Boxing Association (IBA) for failing a gender eligibility test.
The test showed levels of XY chromosomes in both the fighter’s samples and led to their exclusion. However, they were allowed to compete in Paris due to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) taking control of governing boxing during the Games – with their regulations more lenient than the IBA.
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Following Khelif’s gold medal triumph, Bulgarian-Nigerian women’s boxer Joana Nwamerue, who is a 6-0 professional boxer and sparred with the Algerian, has labeled Khelif a “man” and became convinced during sparring sessions in February that the Algerian has “male power and male techniques”.
Speaking to Reduxx , she said: “[Khelif] has some kind of internal issues. But it is a man. I will stay [by] my words until he/she does a test to prove to the world that he/she is a woman. But we all know that won't happen.” She added: “I think we played 3-4 sparring sessions. I have a record of everything. I can confirm that this is a man to me. Male power. Men's techniques, everything.”
Nwamerue claimed that she was told Khelif has been “biologically altered” by living in the mountain ranges in her native Algeria, she added: “[Khelif's] teammates came to me and told me 'Imane is not a man. She is a woman and just lives high in the mountains with her relatives and parents and so there may be a change in her testosterone or chromosomes and the like.'”
The scrutiny on Khelif throughout the Games weighed heavily on the fighter as she took aim at the critics following her gold medal triumph. “For eight years, this has been my dream, and I'm now the Olympic champion and gold medalist,” Khelif said Friday.
“That also gives my success a special taste because of those attacks. We are in the Olympics to perform as athletes, and I hope that we will not see any similar attacks in future Olympics. I am fully qualified to take part in this competition. I'm a woman like any other woman. I was born as a woman, I live as a woman, and I am qualified.”
Khelif has since turned her attention to fighting back at her treatment in Paris, with her lawyer Nabil Boudi, releasing a statement saying: "Having just won a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, boxer Imane Khelif has decided to lead a new fight: that of justice, dignity and honor. Ms. Khelif contacted the firm, which filed a complaint yesterday for acts of aggravated cyber harassment with the anti-online hatred center of the Paris public prosecutor's office.
"The criminal investigation will determine who initiated this misogynistic, racist, and sexist campaign but will also have to focus on those who fueled this digital lynching. The unfair harassment suffered by the champion will remain the biggest stain of these Olympic Games."
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