Irish boxer Amy Broadhurst, who beat Imane Khelif at the 2022 World Championships, has defended the Algerian amid the gender controversy storm that has engulfed her at the Olympics.
Khelif was disqualified hours before her gold-medal bout at the women’s World Championships in New Delhi last year after she failed to meet the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) eligibility criteria, which prevent athletes with male XY chromosomes competing in women’s events. Taiwan’s double world champion Lin Yu-ting lost her bronze medal at the same competition, after she too failed to meet the criteria.
The IBA did not specify why the boxers failed their gender eligibility tests but did clarify that neither underwent testosterone examinations. Neither Khelif, 25, nor two-time world champion Lin, 28, identifies as transgender or intersex.
The IBA was stripped of its recognition by the IOC last year over governance and finance issues, with the Olympic body running the boxing competition in Paris itself, and it has allowed both women to participate.
On Thursday, Khelif landed a heavy punch on her opponent, Italy’s Angela Carini, in their last-16 bout which forced Carini to quit after only 46 seconds. After Khelif’s hand was raised to signal her victory, Carini dropped to her knees in tears and could also be heard telling her coach, “It’s not right, it’s not right!” before promptly leaving the arena.
Carini suffered a suspected broken nose, and the 25-year-old told reporters that she had never been punched so hard in her career.
The situation has caused a deluge of hate, aggression and misinformation online surrounding Khelif with the likes of author JK Rowling and billionaire Elon Musk voicing their opposition to her competing in the Games.
but before the Algerian’s victory at Paris 2024, Broadhurst – a boxer who beat Khelif in the welterweight final of the 2022 IBA Women’s World Championships – defended her in a social media post.
“Have a lot of people texting me over Imane Khelif,” she wrote on Twitter/X. “Personally I don’t think she has done anything to ‘cheat’.
“I think it’s the way she was born and that’s out of her control. The fact that she has been [beaten] by nine females before says it all.”
The IOC said the rules of eligibility were based on those of the Tokyo Games in 2021 and cannot be changed during a competition.
In a statement, the IOC wrote: “The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure, especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.
“The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving,” it added. “Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination.”
Khelif is next scheduled to fight on Saturday (3 August) at 4.22pm BST and victory would guarantee the Algerian a bronze medal at 66kg and the chance to compete for silver or gold.