The gold is yours, sis! After the controversy during the fight between Imane Khelif and Angela Carini, the Algerian boxer did not give up and, despite the attacks against her, she already has the ticket to seek the gold medal.
Khelif qualified for the Olympic final in the under 66 kilogram category by defeating Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng by unanimous decision. The Algerian will fight for gold with China’s Liu Yang, who beat Taiwan’s Bien Chin Chen 4-1 in the other semi-final. The final will take place next Friday.
Imane Khelif will fight for GOLD!
She won her 66kg bout against Janjaem Suwannapheng from Thailand to reach the Olympics final.
Her reaction is priceless. May your glory be eternal sister!!! pic.twitter.com/5iyiS85mtO
— Leyla Hamed (@leylahamed) August 6, 2024
Imane Khelif has been the victim of a campaign against her participation in the Games by the International Boxing Association (IBA), an organization disqualified by the IOC for its irregularities.
Imane and Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting were previously suspended by the IBA from the 2023 world championships on the grounds that they had failed gender eligibility tests, which the IBA has not specified or presented.
Both have competed without incident throughout their careers in dozens of women’s competitions, including the 2020 Tokyo Games.
However, according to the IBA, Khelif has XY chromosomes and higher testosterone levels than normal for women. The IOC has protected female boxers by noting that they were born, raised and compete as women and have a female passport. Before the semi-final, Khelif won her first bout by withdrawal of Italy’s Angela Carini and the second by unanimous decision against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori.
Read also: (VIDEO) Angela Carini’s Fake Injuries: What Explains the Case with Imane Khelif
Olympic Committee Announces Final Decision on Imane Khelif Case
A few days ago, the International Olympic Committee published an official statement in which it assures that “all athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with thecompetition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as with all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU)”
Joint Paris 2024 Boxing Unit/IOC Statementhttps://t.co/22yVzxFuLd pic.twitter.com/fZvgsW8OOi
— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) August 1, 2024
“As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport,” they note in their statement, in which they recall that these rules were also applied during the qualification, including the 2023 European Games, the Asian Games, the Pan American Games, the Pacific Games, the African qualifier in Dakar and two more world championships held in Busto Arsizio and Bangkok in 2024.
The PBU used the Tokyo 2020 boxing rules as a basis for developing its regulations for Paris 2024.
“This was to minimise the impact on athlete’s preparations and guarantee consistency between Olympic Games. These Tokyo 2020 rules were based on the post-Rio 2016 rules, which were in place before the suspension of the boxing International Federation by the IOC in 2019 and the subsequent withdrawal of its recognition in 2023.”
It has also been stated that eligibility rules should not be changed during the ongoing competition, and any rule changes should follow appropriate processes and be based on scientific evidence.