• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Imane Khelif’s dad addresses Olympic gender row with key piece of evidence

Home> News> Sport

Published 10:37 6 Aug 2024 GMT+1

Imane Khelif’s dad addresses Olympic gender row with key piece of evidence

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif’s father has weighed in on the row surrounding his daughter's appearance at the Olympics

Kit Roberts

Kit Roberts

The father of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has weighed in on the row surrounding his daughter's appearance at the Olympic games.

Khelif found herself at the centre of an online maelstrom as misinformation about her circulated online after she beat Italy's Angela Carini in 46 seconds.

The controversy emerged from a previous ruling by the International Boxing Association (IBA), which claimed that Imane had failed an unspecified 'gender eligibility test'.

The IBA - which yesterday (August 5) demanded Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting 'prove that they were born women' - had its status as the official sporting body for boxing suspended in 2019 following concerns around corruption.

Advert

These concerns included those around IBA president Umar Kremlev, who has ties to Vladimir Putin, as well as the association's main sponsor being Russian majority state-owned gas company Gazprom.

But all this has not stopped the row around Imane's appearance at the Paris 2024 from spreading around the internet.

Now, her father has weighed in on the row.

Imane is now guaranteed a medal. (MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Imane is now guaranteed a medal. (MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Advert

He told the Daily Mail: "Imane is a little girl that has loved sport since she was six years old, she used to play football.

"These critics and rumours aim to destabilise Imane, they don't want her to be the champion of the world.

"I tell her prove them wrong in the ring and I hope that she will honor Algeria and Arabic countries and win the gold medal. She is our role model, and we want to be like her and honor Algeria and Tiaret."

In a heartbreaking moment Imane's father even felt compelled to produce evidence that she was born as a woman.

Advert

This was an official document which showed Imane being recorded as a girl at birth.

Algeria's Olympic Committee called the row a series of 'malicious and unethical attacks directed against our distinguished athlete, Imane Khelif, by certain foreign media'.

Imane celebrates after beating Hungary's Anna Luca Hamori. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Imane celebrates after beating Hungary's Anna Luca Hamori. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Imane has also responded to the relentless bullying on social media, telling SNTV on August 4: "I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects.

Advert

"It can destroy people, it can kill people's thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying."

Imane's opponent Angela Carini has also expressed regret about how the controversy has spiralled out of control since their fight.

She said: "All this controversy makes me sad. I'm sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision."

Imane is still in the fight and is now guaranteed a place on the podium, though which medal remains to be seen.

Featured Image Credit: Richard Pelham/Getty Images

Topics: News, World News, Olympics

Kit Roberts
Kit Roberts

Kit joined UNILAD in 2023 as a community journalist. They have previously worked for StokeonTrentLive, the Daily Mirror, and the Daily Star.

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Eye-watering amount of money Imane Khelif will earn for winning Olympic gold after gender controversy
  • Boxer Imane Khelif gives defiant statement as she advances to final amid ongoing gender row
  • WWE star slams people attacking boxer Imane Khelif amid gender controversy
  • Olympic medallist tragically dies aged 49 after being struck by lightning on family vacation

Choose your content:

3 hours ago
4 hours ago
5 hours ago
  • 3 hours ago

    TSA issues urgent warning to travelers following terrifying scam that could steal your money in seconds

    It involves the faster 'pre check' line in airports

    News
  • 4 hours ago

    Daughter’s heartbreaking words in court as dad is found guilty of killing her mom with poisoned protein shake

    James Craig has been jailed for methodically poisoning his wife

    News
  • 4 hours ago

    'Dear friend' of Liam Neeson's late wife reveals exactly what he said to him amid Pamela Anderson 'romance'

    Liam Neeson's wife Natasha Richardson died in 2009 in a skiing accident

    Celebrity
  • 5 hours ago

    Symptoms of Lyme disease explained after Justin Timberlake reveals 'shock' diagnosis

    Justin Timberlake described the condition as 'relentlessly debilitating'

    News