Boxer Imane Khelif Posts Winston Churchill 'Success' Quote After Olympic Rule Changes To Protect Females
Khelif may have taken issue with the IOC's decision to protect female athletes.
Boxer Imane Khelif does not appear to be too pleased with the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) recently announced plans to address transgender athletes competing in female sports.
Khelif, who was at the center of controversy surrounding their gender en route to Olympic gold in women's boxing in 2024, appeared to respond to the IOC's announcement on Instagram.
The Algerian posted a Winston Churchill quote about success, failure, and courage to their Instagram story on Monday, days after the IOC announced its plans to protect female athletes.
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts," the quote read while a song from Sia titled ‘I’m Still Here' played during the Instagram story.
Instagram/Imane_Khelif_10
Khelif's gender became the story of the Summer Games a year ago after it was discovered that the boxer had failed a gender eligibility test that kept them from competing in the 2023 World Championships.
World Boxing Bans Imane Khelif Until Trans Fighter Complies With New Mandatory Gender Testing
A leaked 2023 medical test administered by the International Boxing Association (IBA) revealed that Khelif, who has declared they are not transgender, is allegedly a biological male based on the presence of a male karyotype.
It's important to note that the IOC stopped recognizing the IBA in 2023.
There have been calls to take retroactive action and strip Khelif of the 2024 gold medal, but new IOC president Kirsty Coventry has said no such action would be taken. However, it was in the same meeting that the plans to address transgender athletes in female categories were shared.
"It was agreed by the members that the IOC should take a leading role in this," Coventry said during the livestreamed meeting, according to The Guardian. "And that we should be the ones to bring together the experts and the international federations and ensure that we find consensus.
"We understand that there will be differences depending on the sports. But it was fully agreed that as members, as the IOC, we should make the effort to place emphasis on protection of the female category."