Imane Khelif has announced a huge career move months after winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 25-year-old Algerian star was the talk of the summer games in Paris earlier this year... sadly for the wrong reasons.
It all began on August 1 when Khelif beat Italy’s Angela Carini in 46 seconds. The Italian boxer fell to her knees crying, allegedly stating, "It's not fair". Carini then refused 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.
A lot of concerned people claimed that the Olympian - who is listed as a female on her passport, and has always identified as female - incorrectly claimed that Khelif was a transgender woman.
Others raised the issue that she was 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.
Khelif's participation in the games led to backlash from social media users as well as high-profile figures like Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and J.K Rowling.
The former president of the United States even spoke about the gold medalist on a recent appearance on WWE star The Undertaker's podcast, repeatedly misgendering her.
"Did you see that beautiful Italian girl? She's supposed to be a good boxer. She took just a left jab. The guy goes (Trump throws a punch) boom," Trump said, cited by Daily Mail.
Trump then incorrectly claimed that Khelif had "transitioned" from male to female.
His comments come after the athlete named the former president after filing a lawsuit against Musk’s X platform for facilitating online harassment towards her.
Despite public scrutiny, Khelif didn't lose a single round in the women’s welterweight (66kg) competition and ended up defeating China's Yang Liu to become the first Algerian woman to claim boxing gold.
The 25-year-old has now shared with her fans that she is taking the next step in her already record-breaking boxing career.
Speaking at a press conference, she revealed: “I would like to hold a press conference today to share with you my success story with the media family and young women who watch me...There is a documentary being prepared about my success story and it will be shown on international platforms," per News.com.au.
Khelif then announced that she will "enter the world of professional boxing," and has received "many offers," adding: “Currently, I have not made up my mind about where I will enter professional boxing."
“But very soon I will take this step, we as Algerians would like to see our level in the field of professionalism," she concluded.
She certainly is a fighter - in and out of the ring!
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