Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer at the center of a gender battle, will take home at least a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics
Imane Khelif of Algeria celebrates victory against Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary after the women's 66-kg quarterfinal round of the Paris Olympics at North Paris Arena on August 3, 2024lgerian boxer Imane Khelif, who has faced scrutiny through the Paris Games, is now guaranteed at least an Olympic bronze medal, after defeating Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori in a unanimous decision in the quarterfinals.
Isamel Lyaakoubi, a chemical engineer from Paris who still has family in the North African nation, wrapped himself in the Algerian flag. “Some people have made very bad comments to her,” says Lyaakoubi, referring to the torrent of online abuse Khelif has faced—and media commentators and others—due to the gender controversy. “It’s very important to be there to represent our country, to represent Imane.” He called it a moment of unity for the nation.
Addressing reporters in Hungarian after the fight, Hamori said the bout was fair, according to a Hungarian journalist who interpreted Hamori’s words for English-speaking journalists. “That was my childhood dream,” said Hamori, who is making her Olympic debut, in English. “So I am so happy and I wish good luck to my opponent and the others in the finals.” Hamori did not take questions in English.“I am not scared,” Hamori said after her fight on Thursday, about the prospect of facing Khelif today.
In a press conference Saturday morning, IOC president Thomas Bach reiterated that neither Khelif nor Yu-Ting is transgender. “We have two boxers who were born as a woman, who have been raised as a woman, who have a passport as a woman and who have competed for many years as a woman,” said Bach. “And this is the clear definition of a woman. There was never any doubt about them being a woman.”
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