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Former US President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who is at the center of gender controversy in the 2024 Paris Olympics, is transgender.
Trump made the false claim during his campaign rally at the Georgia State University Convocation Center in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 3.
“Now all you have to do is look at the boxers. This young girl from Italy, a champion boxer, she got hit so hard she didn’t know what the hell hit her,” Trump said, referring to Italy’s Angela Carini who quit 46 seconds into her Olympic match against Khelif last Thursday, August 1.
“It’s a person that transitioned,” the former president said of Khelif. “He was a good male boxer. And [Carini] didn’t even go down. He hit her with two jabs and she said ‘I’m out.'”
Before Trump’s rally in Atlanta, he shared a video of the fight between Khelif and Carini in a post on Truth Social, saying: “I WILL KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS!”
A spokesperson from Trump’s campaign then tied the controversy surrounding Khelif to the ongoing debate on trans women competing in female sports. Trump’s camp also used the Olympic boxing controversy to attack Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.
“President Trump has been unequivocally clear that he will NOT stand for men competing in women’s sports—an insane and unfair reality that has been allowed to transpire because of Radical Left politicians like Kamala Harris,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, per Newsweek.
IOC President Defends Female Boxers Under Gender Scrutiny
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach staunchly defended Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting’s participation in this year’s Olympics.
“Let’s be very clear here: We are talking about women’s boxing,” Bach said, per Associated Press. “We have two boxers who are born as a woman, who have been raised as a woman, who have a passport as a woman, and who have competed for many years as women. And this is the clear definition of a woman. There was never any doubt about them being a woman.”
“What we see now is that some want to own the definition of who is a woman,” Bach added. “And there I can only invite them to come up with a scientific-based new definition of who is a woman, and how can somebody being born, raised, competed and having a passport as a woman cannot be considered a woman?
“If they are coming up with something, we are ready to listen,” Bach added. “We are ready to look into it, but we will not take part in a sometimes politically motivated cultural war.”
IBA President Claims Imane Khelif Has XY Chromosomes
Questions about Khelif’s gender started when she and Yu-Ting were disqualified 2023 Boxing World Championships for failing an undisclosed eligibility test.
The International Boxing Association, which governs the world championships but not the Olympics, through its President Umar Kremlev told the Russian news agency, TASS, in 2023, that Khelif and Yu-Ting have XY chromosomes which IBA claimed gave them a competitive advantage.
“Based on DNA tests, we identified a number of athletes who tried to trick their colleagues into posing as women. According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have XY chromosomes. Such athletes were excluded from competition,” Kremlev said.
USA Boxing released a statement, backing the IOC in allowing Khelif and Yu-Ting to compete in the Olympics.
“All qualified athletes have competed internationally for several years and in the qualifying events leading up to the Olympic Games. The athletes have passed the necessary and stringent medical testing and guidelines put forth by the IOC,” the statement read in part, per Yahoo Sports.
“The eligibility rules in place for the Olympic Games have been in place for years and USA Boxing has confidence that the IOC and the PBU’s eligibility requirements consider medical expertise and prioritize the safety of the athletes. USA Boxing prioritizes the safety of our boxers and would not knowingly enter our boxers into competitions unless eligibility rules relied on sufficient medical support.”
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