Algerian Olympic champion Imane Khelif has denounced “false and offensive” allegations after the International Boxing Association (IBA) said it will sue the International Olympic Committee over her inclusion at the Paris Games’ women’s boxing last year.
The IBA has “again made baseless accusations that are false and offensive, using them to further their agenda”, said Khelif in a statement posted on social media.
“This is a matter that concerns not just me but the broader principles of fairness and due process in sport,” she added.
The IBA has said it will launch a lawsuit against the IOC for including Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting — who also won gold — at last year’s Olympics.
The IBA, led by Umar Kremlev, a Kremlin-linked Russian oligarch, was excluded from the Olympic movement in 2019 over financial and ethical irregularities.
As a result the IOC organised the boxing in Paris.
Neither Khelif nor Lin Yu-ting are transgender women. Both were born and raised as women, which is how they are registered on their passports.
Yet the IBA barred them from its 2023 world championships after it said they failed gender eligibility tests for carrying XY chromosomes.
In its statement announcing the lawsuit, the IBA linked its action to US President Donald Trump’s executive order last week seeking to ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.
The IOC told AFP the IBA’s lawsuit was part of a “campaign against the IOC which is ongoing since their recognition was withdrawn by the IOC for issues related to governance, judging and refereeing as well as questions around their finances”.
Khelif and Yu-Ting “were born as women, were raised as women, and have competed in the women’s category for their entire boxing careers”, it said.
“They also competed in IBA World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments before they became victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA.”
Khelif said in the statement she “will pursue all available legal avenues to ensure that justice prevails”.
“I have seen adversity before,” she said. “But I have never stayed down.”
“I am not going anywhere,” she added. “I will fight in the ring, I will fight in the courts, and I will fight in the public eye until the truth is undeniable.”
Kremlev said it was “great news that the IOC will face the consequences of their decisions”.
“We are really glad, as we will be able to prove in court that Khelif, based on eligibility criteria, was not allowed to compete in female boxing events in order to guarantee safety and fair chance to women competitors,” he said in a statement.
“(IOC president) Thomas Bach will be personally accountable to the law for what he did.”
