Imane Khelif from Algeria won a gold medal in the 66kg women's boxing event, but her success in the ring was overshadowed by a gender controversy at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
That is to say, after defeating China's Yang Liu in the finals, Khelif celebrated the victory while simultaneously calling out all the haters, who talked down on her over the course of the 2024 Paris Games.
"For eight years, this has been my dream, and I'm now the Olympic champion and gold medalist," Khelif said after winning the fight.
Soon after, Nabil Boudi, who is Khelif's attorney, made a statement on her behalf about the whole gender controversy issue, citing that they have officially filed a complaint with Paris prosecutors, per ESPN.
"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," Boudi said.
Big News!
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has filed a legal complaint over online harassment‼️
The complaint was filed with the Paris Prosecutor's Office on Friday. pic.twitter.com/sH1QQhMtTF
— Boxing Kingdom (@BoxingKingdom14) August 10, 2024
Evidently, the claims being made are that the Algerian boxer is the victim of aggravated cyber harassment. as Boudi went on to call the attacks "misogynist, racist and sexist."
Imane Khelif is officially taking legal action.
Ggs @piersmorgan @jk_rowling @EndWokeness @libsoftiktok @Riley_Gaines_ @OliLondonTV @fairplaywomen and so, so many more. Hope the Twitter interactions were worth it! https://t.co/G6d51rTVzA pic.twitter.com/vh2QP51awO
— Nealer (@Nealerrr) August 10, 2024
All in all, Khelif completely dominated the competition, winning 5-0 in every single round except for her first fight, which included her competitor Angela Carini bowing out after 46 seconds, while saying post fight, "I've never been hit so hard in my life... it's up to the IOC to judge."
With this in mind, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) received much backlash for allowing Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-Ting to compete after the International Boxing Association (IBA) already confirmed last year at the world championships that both fighters failed a gender test, as well as tested positive for XY chromosomes, which led to their disqualification.
All in all, Khelif claims she is not transgender, and some believe she might have a rare disorder called Swyer Syndrome, which means she is a female but has XY chromosomes due to a sex development problem.
‼️ OOPSIES ‼️
I might be guilty of spreading misinformation along with the entirety of this app
Although she’s been previously disqualified for failing a “gender test” and has XY chromosomes, some sources say Imane Khelif was born a biological woman
I stand by my sentiment… https://t.co/oVfWARylCJ pic.twitter.com/S2QvHPHwWg
— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) August 1, 2024
Imane Khelif is Algeria’s 1st Boxing Olympic Gold Medalist EVER. NOT A MAN competing in Women’s sports. NOT TRANSGENDER. She’s a BIOLOGICAL FEMALE who SHOULD BE CELEBRATED not bullied and used to push political agendas. Protect women and stop bullying her.pic.twitter.com/c0eB2NtpzP
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) August 9, 2024
Nevertheless, the IBA did not allow Khelif to fight in the gold medal match at the women's world championships in 2023 due to "elevated levels of testosterone," which opens up a bigger discussion to be had about the rules and regulations surrounding the requirements for eligibility in women's fighting sports.
Related: 'Failed Gender Test' Olympic Boxer Imane Khelif Breaks Silence On Eligibility Controversy