Imane Khelif has told Donald Trump to stay out of sports after he referred to her as a man following her Olympic gold medal win.
Trump mocked her at a rally in Montana in the aftermath of the Algerian boxer’s gold in France last weekend. He incorrectly said Khelif, who was subjected intense global scrutiny over if her gender allowed her to compete in women’s boxing, was transgender.
The boxer has since filed a cyberbullying lawsuit in France which apparently names Elon Musk and JK Rowling. And she didn’t spare Trump from her anger in an interview in Algeria with El Birad.
‘Immediately after there was a lot of noise from politicians, athletes, stars, artists — Elon Musk and Donald Trump and that hurt me a lot, I cannot describe how scared I was,’ the 25-year-old Khelif said.
‘This affected me. I’m not lying to you, it affected me a lot. It hurt a lot. I can’t describe the fear I had but thank God I was able to overcome it. Thank god, all the people of Algeria and the Arab world knew Imane Khelif with her femininity, her courage, her will.’
Imane Khelif has told Donald Trump to stay out of sports after calling her a man
Donald Trump targeted Imane Khelif at his latest rally in Bozeman, Montana last Friday
‘It was a very scary scenario. Honestly, I don’t like to get into politics in sports, but they got politics into sport.
‘Sports and politics are two separate things. These politicians who are oppressing me, they don’t have the right to say I am transgender.
‘This is a big shame for my family, for the honor of my family, for the honor of Algeria, for the women of Algeria and especially the Arab world. They whole world knows I am a Muslim girl.’
Trump, speaking in Bozeman, said: ‘Who wants men to participate in women’s sports? I would like to congratulate the young woman who has evolved from a man to a woman. He… She won gold.
‘What about the woman, the beautiful woman, from Italy? She went in there and had no idea what was going on. She’s a very good boxer – but only against other women.’
He was referring to Angela Carini, who quit 46 seconds into her fight with Khelif last week after being struck on the nose. She was in tears and said she had never been hit so hard before.
Trump acted out the punch and then said: ‘He did this. She immediately, wow, nobody has ever hit me that hard.
‘Then he does it again and she immediately gives up.’
Khelif is now back in Algeria and celebrating her Olympic gold that she won in France
Khelif pictured kissing her gold medal after winning the women’s 66kg category
Khelif, who is not a transgender woman, allegedly has male ‘XY chromosomes’ which led to her disqualification from the 2023 World Championships when she failed unspecified gender eligibility tests administered by the now-banned International Boxing Association.
Speaking in France after winning gold, a tearful Khelif said: ‘For eight years, this has been my dream, and I’m now the Olympic champion and gold medalist.
‘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.
‘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.’
