Algerian boxer Imane Khelif says she's 'never stayed down' and vows to fight back after lawsuit

Algeria's Imane Khelif, right, looks at Italy's Angela Carini, following their women's 66kg preliminary boxing match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

PARIS (AP) — Algeria boxer Imane Khelif, who found herself in the middle of a bitter divide about gender in sports during the Paris Olympics, has denounced “false and offensive” accusations from the International Boxing Association.

“I have been knocked down more times than I can count. But I have never stayed down,” Khelif said late Tuesday on her Instagram account.

The IBA said this week it will file criminal complaints against the International Olympic Committee in the U.S., France and Switzerland. The Swiss-based IOC allowing female boxers Khelif and Lin Yu-ting to compete and win gold medals in Paris last year “may serve as grounds for criminal prosecution,” the IBA claimed.

Khelif responded by saying she “will take all necessary legal steps to ensure that my rights and the principles of fair competition are upheld.”

“Those responsible of these actions must be held accountable, and we will pursue all available legal avenues to ensure that justice prevails,” she added.

The Russian-led IBA has been banished from the Olympics but it cited an executive order on transgender athletes by United States President Donald Trump to justify the criminal complaints.

Khelif said the IBA has “again made baseless accusations that are false and offensive, using them to further their agenda. This is a matter that concerns not just me but the broader principles of fairness and due process in sport.”

The IOC has consistently said the boxers from Algeria and Taiwan, who were assigned female at birth and identify as women, complied with all the rules for the Olympic tournament. Both also competed in Tokyo in 2021 and did not win medals.

Khelif and Lin were disqualified from the 2023 world championships run by the IBA, which said they failed eligibility tests.

“The two female athletes mentioned by IBA are not transgender athletes,” the IOC reiterated on Monday.

Khelif advanced through the Olympic Games amid international scrutiny and uninformed speculation about her sex. Despite being born and raised as a woman, she found herself at the center of Western debates about gender, sex and sports after failing unspecified eligibility tests for women’s competition from the IBA in 2023.

“I have seen adversity before,” Khelif said. “I have fought through every setback, every false accusation, every attempt to erase me. And I have won. Each obstacle has only strengthened my resolve. I will continue to compete with honor and integrity.”

The Associated Press