Boxer in Gender Dispute Speaks Out After Winning Gold

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has weathered attacks on her gender to take the gold medal at the Paris Olympics women’s welterweight division. Khelif beat Yang Liu of China 5:0 in the final where the crowd celebrated her victory loudly, chanting her name and waving Algerian flags. The dispute around Khelif’s gender stems from an International Boxing Association decision to disqualify Khelif and fellow two-time Olympian Li Yu-ting of Taiwan from last year’s world championships, claiming both failed an eligibility test for the women’s competition. However, the International Olympic Committee called the IBA’s tests irretrievably flawed. After her win Khelif jumped in the arms of her coach who carried her on his shoulders for a victory lap. She said the victory was especially sweet given all she had endured at the Paris Games. “That also gives my success a special taste because of those attacks,” she said. “For eight years, this has been my dream, and I’m now the Olympic champion and gold medalist.” “I’m a woman like any other woman. I was born as a woman, I live as a woman, and I am qualified,” she said.

Read more at The Daily Beast.