A boxer with male sex chromosomes won the gold medal in women’s middleweight boxing at the Paris Olympics, despite strong public backlash against rules that allowed for unfair competition.
Algeria’s Imane Kherif defeated China’s Yang Liu 5-0 on Friday.
“What I and many others are opposed to is male violence against women becoming an Olympic sport.”
“For eight years this has been my dream, and now I am an Olympic champion and a gold medalist,” Kheriff said through a translator. According to To ESPN.
Both the International Boxing Association and the World Boxing Organization have determined that Kherif is biologically male, but the International Olympic Committee has decided to allow Kherif to box in the women’s division despite that determination.
“That attack gives my success a special flavor,” Kherif said when asked about the criticism. “As athletes, we go to the Olympics to perform. I hope that similar attacks will not happen at future Olympics.”
Foreign Minister Khelif had previously blamed the criticism on a “conspiracy” against Algeria.
“People are plotting against Algeria so that the Algerian flag is not raised and so that Algeria does not win a gold medal,” the boxer said.
The gold medal is Algeria’s first in women’s boxing.
One of the most vocal critics of this gender issue has been world-famous author J.K. Rowling.
“Commentators who criticise the IOC’s reliance on documentation rather than gender testing say they believe Khelif is transgender – this is a myth. I am not alleging that Khelif is transgender. What I and many others are opposed to is male violence against women becoming an Olympic sport,” she said. Written About X.
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