A male boxer has responded with a four-word statement amid the backlash to his “victory” in the women’s boxing division at the Paris Olympic Games.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif has provoked outrage after he was allowed to compete in the Olympics as a “woman.”
During his first match, he pulverized Italy’s Angela Carini, a real woman.
The shocking match came to an abrupt halt after just 46 seconds when Carini was forced to abandon the match after taking two massive blows to the head from the male boxer.
“I’m used to suffering,” Carini said after the match.
“I’ve never taken a punch like that, it’s impossible to continue.”
Khelif was previously disqualified from the Women’s World Boxing Championships in March 2023 in New Delhi.
He was forced to take a series of DNA tests amid concerns over the sex of some of those taking part.
The DNA test proved that Khelif had XY chromosomes, meaning he is male – a biological fact that cannot be altered.
Khelif was banned from the Women’s World Boxing Championships after the International Boxing Association (IBA) determined that he was “trying to fool [his] colleagues” into believing he is a woman.
However, Khelif was cleared to fight against women at the 2024 Paris Olympics, despite previously failing gender tests.
He was given the green light to fight women, along with male boxer Lin Yu-Ting, of Taiwan, under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) “transgender” policy.
The image of a male boxer beating a female opponent has ignited a widespread backlash against the IOC’s policies.
After clinching a medal in the women’s 66kg division gave a brief message to his critics.
Khelif, who doesn’t claim to be transgender but insists he is “female,” declared: “I am a woman.”
He made that statement after defeating Hungarian boxer Anna Luca Hamori, a real woman.
Khelif advanced to the semifinals with that victory, and since boxing doesn’t have semifinal matches, Khelif is guaranteed, at worst, a bronze medal.
IOC President Thomas Bach earlier Saturday defended Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan.
In a statement about the backlash, Back falsely claimed that both male athletes were “born as a woman.”
The IOC has refused to provide any information about the tests Khelif and Yu-tine supposedly passed, underscoring its lack of transparency in nearly every aspect of its dealings, particularly in recent years.
“Let’s be very clear here: We are talking about women’s boxing,” Bach said Saturday.
“We have two boxers who are born as a woman, who have been raised a woman, who have a passport as a woman, and who have competed for many years as women.
“And this is the clear definition of a woman.
“There was never any doubt about them being a woman.”
The IOC has called the IBA’s testing “flawed.”
Khelif’s mother, Irene, said on Algerian television after the bout that she was “proud of [her] daughter [sic]” and called the boxer “courageous despite racist and sexist attacks to break her [sic].”
He will fight for a chance at a gold-medal bout on Tuesday at 4:34 p.m. ET against Thai boxer Janjaem Suwannapheng, an actual female.
