Algerian boxer Imane Khelif unveiled a glamorous look in a new video on Wednesday following her gold medal win at the 2024 Olympic Games.
In a video shared on Beauty Code’s Instagram page, Khelif – who was at the centre of a gender controversy while competing in the Paris Games – is first seen wearing a black shirt and her hair tied back as she boxes towards the camera. The clip then switches to the 25-year-old athlete with loose curls, pink eyeshadow and matching lip gloss.
With her floral top and matching earrings, she wore the Olympic gold medal she received last Friday for her victory over China’s Yang Liu.
Khelif’s Olympic tour attracted worldwide attention after she faced Italy’s Angela Carini in the first round, who retired after 46 seconds and said: “I have never taken a hit like that before.”
The fallout intensified when prominent figures such as X-CEO Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump questioned Khelif’s gender.
She had been disqualified from the 2023 IBA World Boxing Championships for failing an unspecified gender eligibility test, according to the IBA – the Russian-led governing body with which the IOC no longer has ties.
Khelif, who was born female and does not identify as transgender, said in a recent interview that the ordeal had left her “very distressed.”
“It affected me a lot, it hurt me a lot. I cannot describe to you how great my fear was. I was afraid that I would say: Why did Imane Khalif insist on this? Why was there an outcry from major politicians around the world? I was afraid, but thank God I was able to overcome this phase thanks to the specialists who helped me through it,” Khelif said, according to a video on X shared by journalist Sulaiman Ahmed.
Khelif has now filed a criminal complaint in France for online harassment, naming both Musk and Harry Potter author JK Rowling.
Following Khelif’s fight with Carini earlier this month, former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines posted on X: “Men don’t belong in women’s sports #IStandWithAngelaCarini,” to which Musk responded by tweeting: “Absolutely.”
Rowling wrote on X on August 2: “The idea that those who object to a man hitting a woman in the name of sport object because they believe Khelif is ‘trans’ is a joke. We object because we have seen a man hit a woman.”
Trump, who referred to Khelif as “he” during a campaign rally, will be part of the investigation, the athlete’s lawyer, Nabil Boudi, told Variety, adding: “Trump tweeted, so he will inevitably be investigated as part of the law enforcement process, whether he is named in our lawsuit or not.”
Khelif was celebrated by her home country upon her return from the Games.
