Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has filed a legal complaint for online harassment following a gender outcry from some people claiming that she is not a woman.
The first-time Olympic gold medalist’s lawyer, Nabil Boudi, told Reuters that the complaint was filed Friday.
“All that is being said about me on social media is immoral. I want to change the minds of people around the world,” Khelif said about the filing.
The athlete unanimously took the top prize in the women’s welterweight division finals on Friday, where she beat Yang Liu of China 5:0.
“For eight years, this has been my dream, and I’m now the Olympic champion and gold medalist,” Khelif said through an interpreter following her win, per The Associated Press. When asked about the scrutiny surrounding her gender, she told reporters: “That also gives my success a special taste because of those attacks. We are in the Olympics to perform as athletes, and I hope that we will not see any similar attacks in future Olympics.”
The outcry surrounding her gender began after her first fight at the 2024 Paris Olympics against Italian boxer Angela Carini ended after 46 seconds. The European athlete told reporters that she abandoned the match for her health. “I have never felt a punch like this,” she said, crying.
Carini’s comments and the fight sparked controversy because Khelif is one of two boxers who was permitted to compete at the Olympics despite being disqualified from the now-banned International Boxing Association’s women’s world championship in 2023. The Algerian boxer and Taiwan’s Li Yu-ting allegedly failed testosterone and gender eligibility tests, the IBA announced.
Among the people commenting on Khelif’s gender, claiming she was a man, were J.K. Rowling, Elon Musk, Logan Paul and Piers Morgan, who weighed in about the “fairness” of letting Khelif compete, when they thought she was a man.
Khelif, who was raised and identifies as a female and is not transgender, said on Friday ahead of her final match: “I’m fully qualified to take part in this competition. I’m a woman like any other woman. I was born as a woman, I live as a woman, and I am qualified.”
