A boxer who previously beat Imane Khelif has issued a fresh statement after online trolls targeted her for initial comments made on the controversy that has engulfed Khelif and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Amy Broadhurst, an Irish boxer who represented Team GB at the Paris Games, took to social media after Khelif's dramatic win in the women's 66kg boxing competition in France.
Khelif's round of 16 opponent, Italian boxer Angela Carini, withdrew just 46 seconds in. She said she had 'never been hit so hard' in her life.
The alarming end to the fight saw controversy ignite around 25-year-old Khelif competing in the women's events for Algeria after she was last year banned from competing against females by the International Boxing Association (IBA).
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The IBA claimed Khelif failed a DNA test allowing her to fight in the women's competition, stating the presence of male XY chromosomes in the results.
The test results have never been made public. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said the disqualification was due to elevated levels of testosterone.
Despite the ban, the IOC allowed Khelif to take part in the Paris Games after she met the criteria to do so, with her passport saying she was female. Taiwan’s double world champion, Lin Yu-ting, has also been allowed to fight in the Olympics despite also being banned by the IBA over the same issue.
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It comes after the IBA was stripped of its recognition by the IOC in 2023, relating to concerns over governance and finance issues.
Broadhurst took to X (formerly Twitter) following Khelif's fight, having previously been in the ring with her and won. She wrote: "Have had a lot of people texting me over Imane Khelif. Personally I don’t think she has done anything to ‘cheat’. I thinks it’s the way she was born and that’s out of her control. The fact that she has been [beaten] by nine females before says it all."
Khelif has fought 50 times in her career, losing on only nine occasions - with one of those times against Broadhurst in the final of the 2022 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships. Khelif has only stopped an opponent five times in those 41 wins.
Broadhurst has today (2 August) been forced to issue another statement on the issue after being targeted by trolls, pleading with social media users to 'stop the bullying'.
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"This is the last I’m going to speak on this situation because it’s a crazy situation," she wrote on Instagram.
"IBA released the statement that two boxers failed a gender test over a year ago. That’s all well and good but where are the results? They haven’t been published yet so people are just believing what’s been said. Bare in mind IBA were banned from having anything to do with the Olympics so what a brilliant time for them to kick up a storm. During the Olympic Games.
"I do not agree with male vs female. I never will because it’s wrong. But the abuse this person has received in the last 24 hours without any real facts or proof is so wrong! Please keep in mind if your child was going through something like this what would you do.
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"Wait for facts, wait for the results to become known and then make you opinion but stop the bullying."
Sharing the post on X, she added: "Please, the hate has been ridiculous."
Responding, one follower said: "Thank you, Amy. The amount of hate I received just for defending her, I can't imagine how Imene has to deal with all this misinformation."
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Another wrote: "Big respect for you champion. People talk without any research."
And a third posted: "The real hero is the one who always stands with the truth. Bravo, Amy."
It came after WWE superstar and YouTuber Logan Paul was forced to backtrack on comments he made about Khelif. In a deleted post, he referred to her as 'man beating up a woman on a global stage'.
Khelif has never identified publicly as a man, transgender, or intersex.
Topics: Boxing, Instagram, Olympics, Sex Education, Social Media, Twitter, UK News, World News, Imane Khelif
Tom Earnshaw