Boxing champion Imane Khelif targets second Olympic gold at LA 2028 Games

Imane Khelif, who won boxing gold at the Paris Olympics despite a gender-eligibility row, says she will not be stung by US President Donald Trump and is determined to defend her title at the 2028 Los Angeles games.

In an interview that aired on Tuesday, Khelif told ITV, “I will give you a straightforward answer, I am not transgender.”

“I don’t care about this, and it doesn’t intimidate me.”

Trump signed an executive order last month that prohibits transgender athletes from playing female sports in the United States, and he addressed Khelif as a “male boxer” in a speech following the signing.

Federal funding will not be provided to educational facilities that allow transgender people to play sports and use female locker rooms as per the order signed in February.

Trump added that he would push for the International Olympic Committee to explicitly support gender-based participation before the Los Angeles Summer Games in 2028, which has traditionally been reserved for international governing bodies.

The US president said, “We want them to change everything about the Olympics and this ridiculous subject.”

On Monday, the executive board of the International Olympic Committee recommended that boxing be a part of the 2028 Games, and Khelif said she had a dream to keep her title in California.

Of course, it was the second gold medal, of course. I will [protect with everything this gold medal in America and Los Angeles,” Khelif said in the interview.

“I think the Imane Khelif of today is even more determined and motivated if the old Imane operated at 50% of her potential.”

Following a test that the organization claimed made her unfit for the 2023 world championships due to her gender, Khelif was disqualified by the International Boxing Association.

However, the International Olympic Committee refused to accept Khelif’s participation in the Games despite intense criticism, and the IBA was forced to resign over governance issues.

World Boxing, a rival sport to the IBA, was recently recognized as the sport’s international governing body.

The IOC’s session in Greece still needs to approve the recommendation, and incoming President Thomas Bach expressed confidence in the outcome.

Khelif said, “As of right now, I can say that the IBA is a thing of the past.” “Those who have nothing to hide should have no fear,” as we customarily say in Algeria.

With the elections scheduled for Thursday, the IOC presidential election has been dominated by the debate over whether transgender athletes and those who have disabilities of sexual development (DSSD) should compete in women’s sports.