Imane Khelif was given a champion’s welcome by a legion of adoring fans as she flaunted her Olympic gold medal in a bus parade around her home city.
The bus slowed to a crawl as the throng pressed in, with thousands of mobile phones pointed up to snap an image of the boxer.
Khelif claimed gold in the women’s welterweight category but her participation was shrouded in controversy after the IBA disqualified her from last year’s World Boxing Championship having detected male XY chromosomes in testing.
The Olympics admitted her and Taiwan‘s Lin Yu-ting on the basis that their passports said they were female, with both insisting they were born as such and never identifying otherwise.
Sharing pictures of her triumphant parade, Khelif wrote on Instagram: ‘The height of pride and honor is in representing your country and raising its flag high.
Masses of fans gathered to welcome Imane Khelif back to her home city of Tiaret in Algeria
It was hard for the bus to move as people raised their hands and tried to take a picture of her
Khelif claimed gold at the Olympics amid controversy over last year’s failed gender test
She was one of two boxers along with Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting to face controversy over competing
Khelif’s parade started while it will still light and ended in darkness as she made her way around Tiaret
The boxer beamed as she was reunited with family members almost a week after the Games
One fan rode on a horse to try and capture a photo as others followed on a motorbike
‘It is an even greater joy to share that pride with your family, loved ones, and community. The warm welcome I received in the streets of Tiaret and Biban Misbah, and the overwhelming feelings of love and support, will stay in my heart forever.
‘From the bottom of my heart, thank you all. Thank you, Tiaret. Thank you, Algeria. Thank you to all Arabs, and to everyone who supported me and stood by me. The future is bright, Inshallah.
‘With love, your daughter, Imane Khelif.’
Khelif was given an initial heroic welcome back to Algeria on Monday, June 12, presenting her gold medal to the masses after landing at the Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers.
She fist-pumped the air and was met by a delegation of politicians before going on to meet Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Wednesday at Muradiye Palace.
President Tebboune is said to have taken a personal interest in Khelif and was quoted by her trainer Mohamed Chaoua as saying ‘we will not give up on our rights’.
Her arrival in her home city of Tiaret on Friday sparked further jubilation and she went on to share special moments with her family members.
After winning gold in the welterweight category by dismantling China’s Yang Liu, Khelif issued a defiant statement.
‘I am a woman like any other woman,’ Khelif has insisted. I was born a woman, I lived as a woman, I competed as woman – there is no doubt’
The boxer was presented with a bouquet of flowers on her return to Tiaret, her home city
Khelif was initially welcome back to Algeria on Monday at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers
She also had the chance to meet Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune this week
Tebboune presented Khelif with a certificate to commemmorate her achievement in Paris
The IBA claimed they found male XY chromosomes and disqualified her from the World Boxing Championships last year
‘I am fully qualified,’ she said. ‘I am a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived as a woman, I competed as woman – there is no doubt.
‘[The detractors] are enemies of success, that is what I call them. And that also gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.’
However, her coach, Georges Cazorla, has confirmed that the IBA tests identified ‘a problem with hormones’ and ‘with chromosomes’, suggesting that she may have the XY gender chromosomes typical of a man.
‘This poor young girl was devastated, devastated to suddenly discover that she might not be a girl,’ he told French magazine Le Point.
Last year, the International Boxing Association (IBA) disqualified Khelif and Lin from the World Championship but did not expand on their reasoning.
However, in an explosive press conference in Paris, the organisation’s Russian chief, Umar Kremlev, scolded both as ‘men’.
The IBA – discredited by the International Olympic Committee – claimed they had male XY chromosomes and that two blood tests ‘conclusively indicated’ that the pair ‘didn’t match the eligibility criteria for IBA women’s events’.
‘We don’t verify what they have between their legs. We don’t know if they were born like that, or if some changes were made,’ said Kremlev.
Khelif’s coach Georges Cazorla has admitted that it was a ‘problem with hormones’ and ‘with chromosomes’ that led to her previously being banned from women’s competition
The International Boxing Association (IBA) held a bizarre press conference where they called into question the eligibility of Lin and Imane Khelif
Angela Carini withdrew from her bout with Khelif after 46 seconds and was left in tears
Carini took two heavy blows and said her withdrawal was needed in order to ‘preserve my life’
‘The second tests confirmed the first tests. If people have doubts, refer to them. They can make their own tests.’
Olympic organisers branded the IBA’s testing ‘so flawed that it’s impossible to engage with it,’ but the IOC does not run any gender tests of their own, simply going off athletes’ passports.
During the Olympics, Khelif’s father Omar produced an official document dated May 2, 1999, which states that she was born a female.
‘Immediately after there was a big uproar from big politicians around the world, athletes around the world, and even artists and stars, Elon Musk, Trump.. this thing….. that affected me,’ Khelif told El Birad.
‘I am not lying to you, it affected me. It affected me a lot, hurt me a lot.
‘I can’t describe to you the amount of fear I had.
‘The scenario was very scary. Thank god, all the people of Algeria and the Arab world knew Imane Khelif with her femininity, her courage, her will,’ said the Algerian boxer.
‘Honestly, I don’t like to get into politics in sports, but they got into politics in sports. Sports and politics are two separate things.
Laura Woods says that social media users have sent death threats aimed at her unborn baby after she applauded an article raising questions about the protection of female athletes
She shared the abuse that she has been recieving since wading in on the Olympic boxing row
‘These politicians who are oppressing me, they don’t have the right to say that I’m a transgender.’
Across social media there have been waves of support for Khelif but also concern that the International Olympic Committee was putting female athletes at risk by allowing her to compete.
Italian boxer Angela Carini quit their bout after 46 seconds and was in tears after their Olympic fight, claiming it was necessary to ‘preserve my life’ and that she had ‘never felt a punch’ like Khelif’s.
Sports presenter Laura Woods applauded an article by The Telegraph’s Oliver Brown which raised concerns over the protection of female boxers.
She has opened up about death threats directed at herself and her unborn child on social media after commenting ‘great article Oli.
‘Since I replied to this article I’ve had numerous death threats to myself and my unborn child,’ wrote the TNT Sports presenter. ‘Questions on my own gender (I’m pregnant so guess that clears that one up) calls for my employers to sack me, threats to my home.
In July, Woods shared that she is expecting her first child with former Love Island star Adam Collard.
On top of the threats directed toward her family, Woods went on to share that she has received various other strongly-worded messages.
Woods’ original reply to a Telegraph article sparked a mass debate in her comment section
Woods revealed in July that she is expecting her first child with Love Island star Adam Collard
She added: ‘I’ve been called a racist, a bigot and a sexist as well as various insults – ****, s**g etc.
‘I’ve also been asked why I haven’t raised any concerns on this topic before? See above for your answer.
‘When there are discrepancies with test results – which could impact the safety of another human being, in an environment that above all else should be fair – questions are quite rightly going to be asked. The answers are still unclear, otherwise this topic would be closed.’
