Joe
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who recently secured a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, is under fire from former sparring partner Joana Nwamerue, a Bulgarian-Nigerian women’s boxer. Nwamerue, who sparred with Khelif on several occasions, has raised doubts about Khelif’s gender, following a controversial incident at the Olympics.
In a statement to Reduxx, Nwamerue expressed skepticism about Khelif’s gender identity, stating, “[Khelif] has some kind of internal issues. But he is a man. I will stay [by] my words until he/she does a test to prove to the world that he/she is a woman. But we all know that won’t happen.”
Nwamerue further claimed that Khelif’s teammates approached her, insisting that Khelif, who has faced accusations of being biologically male, had undergone “biological alteration” due to environmental factors. “They told me ‘Imane is not a man,” Nwamerue recounted. “She is a woman who just lives high in the mountains with her relatives and parents, which may have led to changes in her testosterone or chromosomes.”
Despite these claims, Khelif has always identified as a woman and is not transgender. Last year, she was banned by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after a test allegedly revealed the presence of XY chromosomes. However, the exact details of the test and the subsequent ban remain unclear.
Khelif’s triumph at the Paris Olympics, where she dominated the welterweight tournament and defeated Chinese fighter Yang Liu to secure gold, has been overshadowed by the ongoing controversy. Speaking out against the allegations, Khelif condemned the harassment she has faced, calling it an attack on human dignity.
“I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects,” Khelif said in an interview with SNTV, according to the Associated Press.
