Imane Khelif, the Algerian Olympic fighter alleged to have male chromosomes, has publicly refused to be intimidated by U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of the L.A. Olympics.
The 25-year-old Algerian boxer, who claimed gold in the women’s 66 kg category amid controversy at the Paris Olympics last year, has signalled an intention to repeat the feat in 2028.
Trump signed an executive order entitled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” last month and called Khelif a male boxer in his speech after signing the order.
It drew broad support from across a variety of sports and athletes.
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The order directs the Department of Justice to assure that U.S. government agencies – federal, state and local – enforce a ban on transgender girls and women from participating in female school sports under Trump’s direction via Title IX, a law against sex discrimination in education.
Now, though, the Algerian has hit back at Trump, insisting a refusal to be “intimidated.”
Speaking to ITV News in an interview to be broadcast in the UK on Wednesday evening, Khelif said:
I will give you a straightforward answer: the US President issued a decision related to transgender policies in America. I am not transgender. This does not concern me, and it does not intimidate me. That is my response.
As Breitbart News’s Warner Todd Huston previously reported, Trump has criticized policies allowing men to play in women’s sports, stating it is an idea “so far out,” that can lead to people getting “really hurt”:
“So, you want to see the country united. But you have a very conservative side and a conservative side, and then you have people that want to see an open border and things. A lot of ti is so far out,” Trump explained. “Like, for instance, they want men playing in women’s sports. I don’t think I could ever say I’m thrilled about that. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen people really hurt.”
Khelif’s triumph in Paris, along with that of Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu Ting, sparked a gender eligibility debate to which high-profile figures such as Trump along with Elon Musk and JK Rowling contributed.
The furore followed an International Olympic Committee (IOC) decision to dismiss the blood tests which had prompted the International Boxing Association (IBA) to disqualify Khelif from the World Championships in 2023.
The IOC, which uses different criteria to determine eligibility, ruled Khelif eligible to compete in Paris.
Imane Khelif is currently beating yet another woman in the ring.
— Brandubh (@brandubh4) August 6, 2024
It looks like he's going to win meaning he is GUARANTEED to win AT LEAST a silver medal.
Shameful. pic.twitter.com/gDekHaNVYk
Khelif said: “As we say in Algeria, those who have nothing to hide should have no fear. The truth became clear at the Paris Olympics — the injustice was exposed and later, the truth was acknowledged by the Olympic Committee in Paris.”
The boxer then added, “For me, I see myself as a girl, just like any other girl. I was born a girl, raised as a girl, and have lived my entire life as one.”
