Paris 2024 gold medalist Imane Khelif has reacted to the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) stance against the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for allowing her and Lin Yu-ting participate at the last Summer Olympic Games.
In the wake of Donald Trump’s executive order, the IBA released a statement saying, ‘Despite notifying the IOC about the disqualification of Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, the IOC disregarded this critical information, allowing both athletes to compete in the Qualifiers and ultimately at the 2024 Olympics, where they secured gold medals, denying opportunities to deserving female athletes.’
The United States president in an executive order banned transgender athletes from participating in the female events.
In response, the Algerian boxer who made headlines over the transgender row at Paris 2024, said “again made baseless accusations that are false and offensive”.
“For two years, I have taken the high road while my name and image have been used, unauthorised, to further personal and political agendas through the spreading and dissemination of baseless lies and misinformation,” she added.
“But silence is no longer an option.
“I am not going anywhere. I will fight in the ring, I will fight in the courts and I will fight in the public eye until the truth is undeniable.”
The Algerian clinched the podium finish at Paris 2024 after being disqualified from the World Championships for reportedly failing gender eligibility tests.
These tests were conducted by Russian-led IBA, who were stripped of their world governing status by the governing body of the Games, over integrity and governance issues.
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