2 Aug 2024 9:50 pm
Who is Imane Khelif?
Born in 1999, Khelif is from rural northwestern Algeria. Her father initially didn't approve of girls participating in boxing, but Khelif said she gave up soccer as a teenager to pursue her new passion, even though she had to travel 10 kilometers each way to the gym.
Khelif eventually caught the attention of Algeria's national team, making her major tournament debut in 2018 with a first-round loss at the AIBA — now the International Boxing Association — world championships. She lost five of her first six elite-level bouts, but improved and excelled.
Khelif was one of Algeria's first three Olympic women's boxers sent to Tokyo three years ago. She won her opening bout but lost her second to eventual gold medalist Kellie Harrington of Ireland.
She also raised her profile by doing well in the next two world championships, and she even became a UNICEF national ambassador early this year.
Why was she disqualified from the world championships?
Khelif reached the final of the 2023 world championships before she was abruptly disqualified by the IBA, which cited high levels of testosterone in her system. The circumstances of that disqualification have been considered highly unusual ever since it happened, and Khelif called it "a big conspiracy" at the time.
She had previously competed without issues and was disqualified by the sport's governing body only after she defeated Russian boxer Azalia Amineva in the 2023 tournament. The IBA is controlled by Umar Kremlev, who is Russian and brought in the state-owned energy supplier Gazprom as its primary sponsor and moved much of the governing body's operations to Russia.
Born in 1999, Khelif is from rural northwestern Algeria. Her father initially didn't approve of girls participating in boxing, but Khelif said she gave up soccer as a teenager to pursue her new passion, even though she had to travel 10 kilometers each way to the gym.
Khelif eventually caught the attention of Algeria's national team, making her major tournament debut in 2018 with a first-round loss at the AIBA — now the International Boxing Association — world championships. She lost five of her first six elite-level bouts, but improved and excelled.
Khelif was one of Algeria's first three Olympic women's boxers sent to Tokyo three years ago. She won her opening bout but lost her second to eventual gold medalist Kellie Harrington of Ireland.
She also raised her profile by doing well in the next two world championships, and she even became a UNICEF national ambassador early this year.
Why was she disqualified from the world championships?
Khelif reached the final of the 2023 world championships before she was abruptly disqualified by the IBA, which cited high levels of testosterone in her system. The circumstances of that disqualification have been considered highly unusual ever since it happened, and Khelif called it "a big conspiracy" at the time.
She had previously competed without issues and was disqualified by the sport's governing body only after she defeated Russian boxer Azalia Amineva in the 2023 tournament. The IBA is controlled by Umar Kremlev, who is Russian and brought in the state-owned energy supplier Gazprom as its primary sponsor and moved much of the governing body's operations to Russia.