PARIS: Algerian boxer Iman Khlif won gold at the Paris Olympics on Friday, clinching the title after a tumultuous Olympic campaign that saw her face intense scrutiny in the ring and online criticism from around the world over misconceptions about her femininity.
Cleif defeated China's Yang Liu 5-0 in the women's welterweight final and ended her professional boxing career with a victory at Roland Garros.
Crowds cheered Cleif in Paris, draped in the Algerian flag and chanting her name, even as she faced increased scrutiny from world leaders, celebrities and others who questioned her qualifications or falsely claimed she was a man. The incident has further divided opinion about changing attitudes to gender identity and the rules of sport.
Speaking to AP's sports video partner SNTV over the weekend, Cleve said the hateful comments she has received are “a threat to human dignity” and called for an end to bullying of athletes. She also said a gold medal would be the “best response” to her backlash.
The incident came after the International Boxing Association, led by Russia, decided to disqualify Kleif and two-time Olympian Li Yuting of Taiwan from last year's world championships, citing that they had failed to pass qualification tests for the women's event, which is still unclear.
The International Olympic Committee took the unprecedented step of permanently banning the IBA from the Olympics last year after years of concerns about its governance, competition fairness and financial transparency. The IOC said the arbitrary gender tests the sports committee subjected the two boxers to were irreparable.
The IOC has repeatedly insisted on the rights of the two boxers to compete in Paris, with President Thomas Bach personally defending Cleif and Lin, calling the criticism “hate speech”.
“We have two boxers who were born women, grew up women, have female passports and have competed as women for many years,” Bach said.
This has not stopped the international backlash linked to misconceptions about the fighters, which have been perpetuated by Russian fake news networks, nor has it stopped two boxers who have performed at the height of their careers while under the spotlight.
Kleif's gold medal was Algeria's first in women's boxing. She is only the country's second boxing gold medalist, after Hosein Soltani (1996).
Hundreds of Cleif's fans, wearing the national flag and making noise, crowded the walkways of the famous Roland Garros tennis courts in Paris and filled the stands, chanting and waving Algerian flags. Cleif has also become a hero to her North African country, with many fans viewing the global criticism of Cleif as a criticism of their country.
Local newspapers dubbed Khleif's fight “the fateful night.” Projection screens were set up in public squares throughout Alger and other cities. In the region where Khleif was from, workers braved the summer heat to paint a mural of Khleif in the gym where she used to take boxing lessons.
“Imane can turn criticism and attacks on her femininity into fuel,” says Mustapha Bensaou of the Tiaret gym. “The slander empowers her… It’s like a blessing in disguise.”
The gold medal fight capped a bizarre nine-day Olympic career for Cleif, whose first opponent, Italy's Angela Carini, withdrew from the bout after just 46 seconds, saying she felt too much pain from Cleif's punches.
The brewing story quickly became international headlines when former US President Donald Trump and “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling criticized and made false assumptions about men competing with women in sports. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni personally met with Carini to express her regret and cast doubt on Cleve’s qualifications.
Carini later said she regretted her actions and wanted to apologize to Khelif. Italian newspaper La Stampa reported in detail Carini's thoughts in the days leading up to the match, describing pressure from both inside and outside her team to avoid the match amid growing speculation about Khelif's status.
Kleif has never performed as well in any other international competition as she has in this Olympics. Last week, she was portrayed as an unstoppable fighter by critics and provocateurs who had never seen her fight before. Opponents and teammates who knew her were shocked by her character.
She then lived up to the idea that she was one of the best Olympic boxers in the world.
The exiled boxing governing body did nothing to help the argument over last year’s world championship disqualifications in a chaotic press conference in which the organization’s leaders clashed with each other over the testing and refused to answer basic questions about it, citing privacy concerns from the Algerian and Taiwanese Olympic committees.
Lin will also be fighting for a gold medal in the Olympic final on Saturday, when she will face Poland's Julia Seremeta, who has a chance to win Taiwan's first boxing gold medal.
