Khelif ‘not intimidated’ by Trump as she targets second Olympic gold

LONDON: Algerian Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif, at the centre of a gender row at the Paris Games, is targeting a second gold in Los Angeles and says she will not be intimidated by Donald Trump.

The US president last month signed an executive order barring transgender women from competing in the female categories of sports.

Trump had previously said the 25-year-old fighter had transitioned from being a man, even though that is not the case.

“I will give you a straightforward answer -- the US president issued a decision related to transgender policies in America,” she told Britain’s ITV News.

“I am not transgender. This does not concern me, and it does not intimidate me. That is my response.”

Olympic chiefs earlier this week recommended that boxing be included at the 2028 Games in LA after a new governing body was provisionally recognised.

The decision still needs to be rubber-stamped by a full session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) this week in Greece.

“Second gold medal, of course,” said Khelif. “In America, Los Angeles.”

She added: “This experience has taught me a lot. I believe that if the old Imane operated at 50 percent of her potential, then the Imane Khalif of today is even more motivated and determined.

“I have learned so much from this campaign against me, and what happened at the Paris Olympics was an eye-opening experience. I feel even stronger now than I was before.”

Khelif’s triumph in Paris, along with that of Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, sparked a raging gender eligibility debate, with high-profile figures such as Trump and Elon Musk weighing in.

She revealed she was “deeply affected mentally” by the “major media campaign” surrounding her, and said her mother was attending hospital almost daily as her family shared the brunt of the attacks.

Khelif and Lin were disqualified from the International Boxing Association’s 2023 world championships after the organisation, the long-standing governing body of amateur boxing, said they had failed gender eligibility tests.

The IOC has severed links with the IBA over financial, governance and ethical concerns. The IBA is led by the Kremlin-linked Russian Umar Kremlev.

Last month the IOC provisionally recognised World Boxing as the body to oversee the sport at future Games.

“As we say in Algeria, those who have nothing to hide should have no fear,” Khelif told ITV. “The truth became clear at the Paris Olympics -- the injustice was exposed and later, the truth was acknowledged by the Olympic Committee in Paris.”

She 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.

“I have competed in many tournaments, including the Tokyo Olympics and other major competitions, as well as four world championships.

“All of these took place before I started winning and earning titles. But once I began achieving success, the campaigns against me started.”

The debate over transgender athletes and athletes with differences in sex development (DSD) in women’s sport has been a central issue in the ongoing IOC presidential race, which concludes on Thursday.

The three leading candidates -- Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior, Sebastian Coe and Kirsty Coventry -- have spoken of the need to “protect the women’s category”.

World Athletics president Coe told AFP in an interview last year: “If we do not protect women’s sport and we don’t have a clear and unambiguous set of policies to do that, then we run the risk of losing women’s sport.”

Khelif said: “I hope the next president of the IOC leads with true sportsmanship, stays committed to Olympic principles, and upholds the values of fair play.”