Amid on the continued scrutiny regarding the competing of welterweight boxer, Imane Khelif at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, France, the competition have released an official statement addressing her eligibility to compete amongst her female peers.
Khelif, who featured at last year’s World Championships, was disqualified from competition after failing a gender test, however, returned to compete at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
Competing yesterday against Italian boxer, Angela Carani, Khelif forced a first round TKO win inside just 46-seconds, with the former turning her back and signally her resignation from the bout to her corner team.
Olympics release statement amid Imane Khelif controversy
Set to progress and take on Hungarian striker, Luca Hamoni in a quarter final bracket at the welterweight limit tomorrow, Khelif has been the subject of much controversy on social media, with former undisputed UFC middleweight champion, Sean Strickland claiming her participation is a sign of “political wokeness” within the Olympic structure.
Releasing an official statement, the COA defended Imane Khelif’s ability to compete amongst her female peers.
“COA strongly condemns the unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets,” COA said in a statement released. “Such attacks on her personality and dignity are deeply unfair, especially as she prepares for the pinnacle of her career at the Olympics. The COA has taken all necessary measures to protect our champion.”
Furthermore, a subsequent statement from the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and the Paris 2014 Boxing Unit has been released.
“Every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination,” The statement read. “All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing United. As with the previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport.”
“These rules also applied during the qualification period, including the boxing tournaments of the 2023 European Games, Asian Games, Pan American Games and Pacific Games, the ad hod 2023 African qualifying tournament in Dakar and two world qualifying tournaments held in Busto Arsizio and Bangkok in 2024, which involved a total of 1,471 different boxers from the 172 National Olympic Committees, the Boxing Refugee Team and Individual Neutral Athletes, and featured over 2,000 qualification bouts.”