2024 Olympic boxing: Who is Iman Khalif? How the Algerian boxer became a symbol of the gender debate
Women’s welterweight boxer Imane Khalif is on the verge of winning her first Olympic gold medal and giving Algeria its seventh first-place finish in 60 years. Yet the story has been overtaken by moral debate and a barrage of misinformation.
Caliph Defeated Italian boxer Angela Carini in their first-round matchup to advance to the women’s welterweight boxing quarterfinals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Carini’s pained reaction to Khalif’s attacks and 46-second concession sparked a fierce debate surrounding the 25-year-old. The conversation ranged from malicious or misinformed claims that Khalif is male to nuanced discussions about how genetics impact athleticism.
Khalif is set to compete for the gold medal against China’s Yang Liu on Friday. With that in mind, let’s learn a little more about the Algerian fighter as her name is back in the headlines.
A woman’s plight
Khalif has always competed in women’s events, including at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. There is no indication that she was identified as anything other than female at birth. Her father, Omar Khalif, defended his daughter, showing her birth certificate to French TV station BFMTV.
The Algerian Olympic Committee strongly condemned the “immoral targeting and defamation” of Khalif.
Algeria does not recognize LGBTQ+ individuals in its laws. It is unlikely that the Algerian government would allow someone who identifies as anything other than heterosexual and their assigned gender to represent the country on the world stage.
Gender controversies and eligibility criteria
Much of the discussion stems from Khalif’s ineligibility to compete under the International Boxing Association, a sanctioning body banned by the Olympics since 2019. The IBA disqualified Khalif and Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-Ting after an unspecified gender test. Subsequently, IBA president Umar Kremlev alleged that the test revealed the presence of XY chromosomes. “Khalif did not undergo testosterone testing but were subjected to a different and recognized test, whereby the details remain confidential,” said an IBA statement released on July 31.
During a press conference held by the IBA on Monday, the organization changed its explanation, now citing testosterone levels as a factor. “These tests [sic] “This shows that they have high levels of testosterone,” Kremlev said. “Just like men. They have testosterone levels similar to those of men. We cannot go further in our investigation – were they born as men, or did some changes occur at a later stage.”
“These tests are not valid tests,” International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said in a press conference on Sunday. “The tests themselves, the process of the testing, the ad-hoc nature of the tests are not valid.
“The testing, the method of testing, the idea of testing that happened overnight. None of this is legitimate and it doesn’t deserve any response.”
Khalif had competed in IBA-sanctioned events without issue before 2023. The IBA disqualified Khalif after she defeated Russian boxer Azalia Amineva in 2023, raising questions about the IBA’s ethics. The IBA is controlled by Umar Kremlev, a Russian who made state-owned energy supplier Gazprom its primary sponsor and moved most of the governing body’s operations to Russia.
“While the IBA is committed to ensuring competitive fairness in all of its events, we express concern at the inconsistent application of eligibility criteria by other sporting organizations, including those overseeing the Olympic Games,” the IBA said in a statement published on July 31. “The IOC’s differing rules on these matters, which do not include the IBA, raise serious questions about both competitive fairness and the safety of athletes.”
The IOC had already stripped the IBA of its status as the global governing body for boxing after it was involved in governing issues and judging scandals. The Paris Boxing Unit, an ad hoc entity, was used to organize this year’s Olympic tournaments. Khalif was allowed to compete in part because her passport identified her as a woman and she has medical clearance.
“All I would say is that all participants competing in the women’s category are following the competition eligibility rules,” Adams said. “They have women in their passports.
“These athletes have competed many times before over many years. They didn’t suddenly show up.”
His boxing record
Khalif is primarily an amateur boxer with a record of 41-9 and 6 knockouts. She made her major tournament debut at the 2018 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, now the IBA. Khalif was eliminated in the first round of both the 2018 and 2019 lightweight tournaments. Khalif was the first female boxer to represent Algeria at the Olympics when she competed at the 2020 Tokyo Games, where she lost in the women’s lightweight quarterfinals to eventual gold medalist Kelly Harrington of Ireland. Khalif found more success in higher weight classes, finishing the 2022 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships as runner-up behind Ireland’s Amy Broadhurst at junior welterweight. Khalif made one professional bout in November 2023, defeating Suwanun Antanai via third-round TKO.
Success at this year’s Olympics
Khalif’s stoppage win over Carini at the 2024 Paris Olympics put her in the public eye. Khalif and Carini received byes into the women’s welterweight round of 16. Khalif then beat Hungary’s Haromi and Thailand’s Janjam Suwannapheng on points to advance to Friday’s gold medal game against China’s Liu Yang.
