Imane Khelif's mom has sent a defiant message to her daughter's critics.
The 25-year-old was the subject of unsubstantiated speculation over her gender during her run at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
It all started on August 1 when the athlete beat Italy’s Angela Carini in 46 seconds. The Italian boxer fell to her knees crying allegedly stating "It's not fair," before refusing to shake her opponent's hand after it was confirmed that she would not be advancing to the next round.
Right after the match, misinformation about Khelif's gender and eligibility to compete in women's boxing spread like wildfire on social media.
The Algerian - who is listed as a female on her passport, has always identified as female, and has been competing in women’s boxing since she started in the sport - faced backlash from online users as well as high-profile figures like Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and J.K Rowling.
There were concerns over Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting's participation in the women's boxing after they were banned from last year's world championships by the IBA for failing to meet gender eligibility criteria.
However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) criticized those tests as deeply flawed and has since barred the IBA over issues related to governance, alleged corruption, and ties to Russia.
Despite public scrutiny, the athlete didn't lose a single round in the women’s welterweight (66kg) competition.
After advancing to the final on August 10, she defeated China's Yang Liu and become the first Algerian woman to claim the boxing gold.
Following her remarkable victory, she shared a powerful message to her critics, saying: “Whether I qualify or not, or whether I’m a woman or not, I have made many statements in the media," per News.com.au.
“I am fully qualified to take part in this competition. I am a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived a woman, I competed as a woman," she continued. "There’s no doubt about that.
"There are enemies of success - this is what I call them. That also gives my success a special test because of these attacks."
The Olympian gold medalist's loved ones have continued to defend her.
According to Daily Mail, her mother, Nasria, has spoken out for the first time and said that she will give her "beloved daughter" her "unwavering love and support as I have always done since she was born".
This comes after Khelif's father, Omar Khelif, insisted that his daughter deserved to compete after her match with Carini caused controversy online.
"My child is a girl. She was raised as a girl. She's a strong girl. I raised her to be hard-working and brave. She has a strong will to work and to train," he told Sky News. "The Italian opponent she faced was unable to defeat my daughter because my daughter was stronger and she was softer."
Khelif will continue to stand against online harassment as she has filed a cyberbullying lawsuit in France, naming both Elon Musk, JK Rowling, and Donald Trump.
Nabil Boudi, a Paris-based attorney who is part of the National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred prosecutor's office confirmed it received the complaint filed by the athlete against the platform X about what she had experienced during her time at the Olympics.
The statement read: "On Aug. 13, (The National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred) contacted the OCLCH (Central Office for the Fight Against Crimes Against Humanity and Hate Crimes) to conduct an investigation into the counts of cyber harassment due to gender, public insult because of gender, public incitement to discrimination and public insult because of origin," per Variety.
Trump would be part of the investigation too, with the attorney explaining: “Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution."
After winning gold, khelif remarked that social media vitriol is now "meaningless," adding: “They impact the dignity of people and I think now people’s thinking has changed. As for the IBA, since 2018 I’ve been boxing under the umbrella of the IBA."
"They know me very well, they know what I am capable and they know how I have developed over the years," she concluded.