Controversial boxer Imane Khelif sends fierce warning to Donald Trump over LA Olympics after gender storm

Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer who won gold at the Paris Olympics amid a gender firestorm, has said she is not intimidated by Donald Trump and wants to defend her crown at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

Khelif was at the center of a bitter furor during last year’s Olympics, when she was criticized by the likes of Trump, Elon Musk and JK Rowling.

The boxer faced allegations that she should be banned from competing in the women’s competition. It came after Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 world championships amid disputed claims that she failed gender eligibility tests.

She went on to claim gold in the welterweight division in Paris and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is now facing legal action for allowing Khelif to compete.

Trump signed an executive order entitled ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’. The president recently referred to Khelif as a ‘male boxer’ who had ‘transitioned’ and ‘stole the women’s gold medal after brutalizing his female opponent.’

Now, though, the Algerian has hit back at Trump, insisting she will not be ‘intimidated’.

‘The US President issued a decision related to transgender policies in America. I am not transgender. This does not concern me, and it does not intimidate me,’ she told ITV.

‘I have learned so much from this campaign against me, and what happened at the Paris Olympics was an eye-opening experience. 

‘I feel even stronger now than I was before…. if the old Imane operated at 50 percent of her potential, then the Imane Khalif of today is even more motivated and determined.’

She claimed winning gold was ‘the best response after all the bullying’, claiming: ‘I believe the gold medal at the Paris Olympics was the best medal of the entire Games. 

‘It was a victory that held significance on every level—ethical, athletic, and even in terms of sportsmanship.’ 

But Khelif has claimed the alleged ‘bullying’ by big names such as Musk and Rowling left her mother ‘going to the hospital almost every day’ and almost saw her ‘fall into a spiral of depression’.

‘When I saw that even heads of state, famous figures, and former athletes were speaking about me without having verified facts, it shocked me,’ Khelif said.

‘It affected me mentally, as well as my family. Even my mother was deeply affected —she was going to the hospital almost every day. 

She added: ‘This went beyond just a sporting issue or a game… I was deeply affected mentally and felt discouraged, but I remained aware of what was happening.

‘Even during the Paris Olympics, I had a team of specialist doctors who provided me with support and assistance. Without their support, I might have fallen into a spiral of depression.’

Khelif last year filed a criminal complaint over alleged cyberbullying during the Paris Olympics, which reportedly named Harry Potter author Rowling and Musk, the owner of X. 

Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting was also disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) before winning gold in Paris.

Back in November, Khelif faced renewed calls for her to be stripped of her Olympic title after a ‘leaked’ report claimed she is a biological man.

The report was initially put together in 2023, in a collaboration between French and Algerian expert endocrinologists working at the Kremlin-Bicetre hospital in Paris and the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine hospital in Algiers. The unverified report alleged that Khelif has male characteristics.  

Khelif threatened to sue the French journalist who published the report. The boxer has always insisted she is a woman and her father even produced her birth certificate which said she was born female.