Olympics boxing champion Imane Khelif files complaint for online harassment amid gender dispute

Paris Olympics boxing champion Imane Khelif files legal complaint for online harassment amid gender eligibility controversy.

Paris Olympics boxing champion Imane Khelif, the Algerian at the centre of a gender eligibility row, has filed a legal complaint in France for online harassment, her lawyer said on Saturday (August 10, 2024).

"The boxer Imane Khelif has decided to begin a new fight, a fight for justice, dignity and honour," Nabil Boudi said in a statement, saying Khelif had filed the complaint for "aggravated online harassment... to Paris prosecutors".

He added: "The investigation will determine who was behind this misogynist, racist and sexist campaign, but will also have to concern itself with those who fed the online lynching."

The "iniquitous harassment" the boxing champion had been subjected to would remain "the biggest stain on these Olympic Games", said Boudi.

On Friday, Khelif won the women's 66kg final against China's Yang Liu in a unanimous points decision, having been the focus of intense scrutiny in the French capital in the past fortnight.

Together with Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting, who was set to fight in the 57kg women's final on Saturday, Khelif was disqualified from last year's world championships after they failed gender eligibility testing.

However they were cleared to compete in Paris, setting the stage for one of the biggest controversies of the Games.