Imane Khelif, who won Paris Olympics boxing gold amid a gender-eligibility row, is determined to defend her title at the 2028 Los Angeles Games and said she would not be intimidated by US President Donald Trump.
Trump signed an executive order banning transgender women from female sports in the US last month and called Khelif “a male boxer” in his speech after signing the order.
“I will give you a straightforward answer: I am not transgender,” she told ITV in an interview. “This does not concern me, and it does not intimidate me.”
Photo: Reuters
The International Olympic Committee’s executive board on Monday recommended boxing’s inclusion in the 2028 Games, and Khelif said she dreamed of retaining her title in California.
“Second gold medal, of course. In America, Los Angeles ... I [will] defend with everything this gold medal,” she said. “I believe that if the old Imane operated at 50 percent of her potential, then the Imane Khalif of today is even more motivated and determined.”
Khelif was disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) at the 2023 world championships after a test that the body said rendered her ineligible to fight as a woman on the grounds of gender.
The IBA lost its Olympic recognition over governance issues, however, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) cleared Khelif to compete in Paris, aggressively defending its position after heavy criticism.
A rival body to the IBA, World Boxing, was given provisional recognition as the international governing body of the sport last month.
The recommendation still requires final approval by the IOC at its session in Greece and outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach said he was confident the session would approve it.
“At this point, I can say that the IBA is a thing of the past,” Khelif said. “As we say in Algeria, those who have nothing to hide should have no fear.”
Two people died on Thursday after fans and police clashed outside the Estadio Monumental in Santiago ahead of a game in South America’s Copa Libertadores, Chilean authorities said. The fatalities happened shortly before the match between Chile’s Colo-Colo and Brazilian club Fortaleza, when police blocked about 100 fans when they attempted to enter the stadium. There were conflicting accounts of how the fatalities occurred, with local media reporting that one of the dead was a 13-year-old boy. The other victim was an 18-year-old woman, according to a relative at the hospital where she was treated. The fans died after being caught underneath a
A potential European league could be a gold mine for the NBA as the top-flight North American league looks to muscle its way into a deep pool of talent across the Atlantic Ocean. The NBA is exploring the launch of a European league with world basketball governing body FIBA as a partner, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last week, with an eye toward a 16-team format made up of 12 permanent clubs and four qualifiers. The continent’s longstanding Euroleague quickly signaled its readiness to enter into talks with the NBA, even as it has balked at the idea of another league in
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
RSS