Imane Khelif, a boxer, has received admiration on the internet after a recent viral video revealed her glitzy appearance off the ring.
When the 25-year-old athlete defeated Italy’s Angela Carini on August 1, her Olympic journey in Paris in 2024 was clouded with controversy.
In 46 seconds, Carini had given up the struggle and was on her knees, sobbing. When it became apparent that she would not be moving on to the next round, she allegedly said, “It’s not fair,” and then she allegedly refused to shake her opponent’s hand.
The bout caused a stir on social media, as a lot of people speculated on Khelif’s eligibility to fight in women’s boxing, including well-known personalities like Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and J.K. Rowling.
Khelif competes in women’s boxing and has been since she first took up the sport. Her passport lists her as a female.
The IBA disqualified the competitor and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting from the world championships last year due to noncompliance with gender eligibility requirements, which raised concerns about potential testosterone advantages.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), however, disapproved of those tests as being seriously faulty and has since banned the IBA due to concerns about suspected corruption, governance, and ties to Russia.
When Khelif defeated China’s Yang Liu on Friday, August 10, to advance to the women’s welterweight (66 kg) final, the public’s scrutiny and the widespread misinformation only strengthened her resolve.
After becoming the first Algerian woman to claim the boxing gold, Khelif shared a defiant message to her critics, saying: “Whether I qualify or not, or whether I’m a woman or not, I have made many statements in the media”.
“I am fully qualified to take part in this competition. I am a woman, like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived as a woman, and I competed as a woman,” she continued. “There’s no doubt about that. There are enemies of success; this is what I call them. That also gives my success a special test because of these attacks.”
The Olympian gold medallist said that the hate on social media is now “meaningless” and that she feels her “honor is intact now.”
“They impact the dignity of people, and I think now people’s thinking has changed. As for the IBA, since 2018, I’ve been boxing under the umbrella of the IBA. They know me very well, they know what I am capable of, and they know how I have developed over the years,” she concluded.
After her incredible victory, the young athlete had a breathtaking makeover that has left many fans in a state of shock.
In a video posted to Beauty Code’s Instagram page, Khelif can be seen punching the camera while wearing a black blouse with her hair pulled back. Later in the video, she can be seen wearing a floral top, matching earrings, curled hair, and bright pink makeup.
Many supporters rushed to the comment section to compliment her looks, with one person writing: “The gorgeous queen,” and another chimed in, “She’s sooo prettyyyy bro y’all just some haters.”
“Her beauty is unique; I love that pretty smile without any trace of make-up, it radiates all the sun. She’s what I actually consider a beautiful woman,” a third sweetly added.
A fourth shared: “We all saw the true beauty that your soul reflected during the Olympic games. You look just stunning! Enjoy your victory. Enjoy your beauty.”
Following online abuse, Khelif filed a criminal complaint in France alleging online harassment, accusing J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk.
Speaking with Variety, Nabil Boudi, a lawyer from Paris who works for the prosecutor’s office of the National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred, acknowledged that the organization received the athlete’s complaint against platform X regarding her experiences during the Olympics.
“On Aug. 13, the National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred contacted the OCLCH (Central Office for the Fight Against Crimes Against Humanity and Hate Crimes) to conduct an investigation into the counts of cyber harassment due to gender, public insults because of gender, public incitement to discrimination, and public insults because of origin,” the statement read.
Trump would be part of the investigation too, with the attorney explaining: “Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution.”
We hope the best for Khelif.