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Imane Khelif has accused the International Boxing Association (IBA) of making “false and offensive” allegations against her, as the fallout from her Olympic saga continues.
At the 2024 Games in Paris, Khelif won welterweight boxing gold, but the Algerian’s victory was overshadowed by a gender row. The IBA, which previously ran Olympic boxing but was dropped before the 2020 Games, claimed Khelif had failed a gender eligibility test at the 2022 World Championships.
While Khelif was born and raised as a woman and has never identified as transgender or intersex, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is facing a legal challenge from the IBA, which says it was prompted by an executive order by US President Donald Trump.
The IBA cited Trump’s “Keeping Men Out Of Women’s Sports” order on Monday, while calling Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting – who also won gold in Paris – “ineligible athletes”. Now Khelif, 25, has responded to the IBA with a statement on Instagram.
She wrote: “For two years, I have taken the high road while my name and image have been used, unauthorized, to further personal and political agendas through the spreading and dissemination of baseless lies and misinformation. But silence is no longer an option.
“The IBA, an organization that I am no longer associated with and which is no longer recognized by the IOC, have again made baseless accusations that are false and offensive, using them to further their agenda. This is a matter that concerns not just me but the broader principles of fairness and due process in sport.
“My team is carefully reviewing the situation and will take all necessary legal steps to ensure that my rights and the principles of fair competition are upheld. Those responsible for these actions must be held accountable, and we will pursue all legal avenues to ensure that justice prevails.”
The IBA was dropped by the IOC due to concerns relating to the organisation’s finances and links to Russia, and due to fears of corruption. As such, the IOC ran Olympic boxing in 2020 and set up the Paris Boxing Unit to do so last summer.
On Tuesday, an IOC spokesperson told The Independent: “This IBA statement is just another example of [the] IBA’s campaign against the IOC, which is ongoing since their recognition was withdrawn by the IOC for issues related to governance, judging and refereeing – as well as questions around their finances.
“Here are the facts: The two female athletes mentioned by [the] IBA are not transgender athletes. They were born as women, were raised as women, and have competed in the women’s category for their entire boxing careers, including at previous international competitions such as the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, when both of them did not win a medal. They also competed in IBA World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments before they became victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were disqualified, without any due process.
“Neither athlete had a perfect track record coming into Paris. Lin Yu-Ting, for example, lost her last bout before arriving in Paris. Neither athlete medalled at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, where Imane Khelif was defeated in the quarter-finals by Unanimous Decision. Lin Yu-ting lost her first fight in the round of 16. Additionally, neither athlete has more Referee Stop Contest (RSC) victories compared to other successful female boxers.
“Across their careers, Yu-Ting has won only one of 40 bouts by RSC (3 per cent) and Khelif has won five of 37 (14 per cent). By comparison, other successful boxers arrived in Paris having won up to 28 per cent of their career bouts and 33 per cent of their most recent bouts by RSC. Such data is relevant when evaluating whether Yu-Ting and Khelif had a heightened performance advantage and/or safety risk compared to other successful boxers in the women’s category.”
