- A huge crowd gathered to welcome Imane Khelif in her home city atop a bus
- The Olympic gold medallist showed off her prize and went to meet her family
- She met the president this week after her controversy at the Paris Olympics
Imane Khelif was given a champion’s welcome by a legion of adoring fans as she flaunted her Olympic gold medal in a bus parade around her home city.
The bus slowed to a crawl as the throng pressed in, with thousands of mobile phones pointed up to snap an image of the boxer.
Khelif claimed gold in the women’s welterweight category but her participation was shrouded in controversy after the IBA disqualified her from last year’s World Boxing Championship having detected male XY chromosomes in testing.
The Olympics admitted her and Taiwan‘s Lin Yu-ting on the basis that their passports said they were female, with both insisting they were born as such and never identifying otherwise.
Sharing pictures of her triumphant parade, Khelif wrote on Instagram: ‘The height of pride and honor is in representing your country and raising its flag high.
Masses of fans gathered to welcome Imane Khelif back to her home city of Tiaret in Algeria
It was hard for the bus to move as people raised their hands and tried to take a picture of her
Khelif claimed gold at the Olympics amid controversy over last year’s failed gender test
She was one of two boxers along with Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting to face controversy over competing
Khelif’s parade started while it will still light and ended in darkness as she made her way around Tiaret
The boxer beamed as she was reunited with family members almost a week after the Games
One fan rode on a horse to try and capture a photo as others followed on a motorbike
‘It is an even greater joy to share that pride with your family, loved ones, and community. The warm welcome I received in the streets of Tiaret and Biban Misbah, and the overwhelming feelings of love and support, will stay in my heart forever.
‘From the bottom of my heart, thank you all. Thank you, Tiaret. Thank you, Algeria. Thank you to all Arabs, and to everyone who supported me and stood by me. The future is bright, Inshallah.
‘With love, your daughter, Imane Khelif.’
Khelif was given an initial heroic welcome back to Algeria on Monday, June 12, presenting her gold medal to the masses after landing at the Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers.
She fist-pumped the air and was met by a delegation of politicians before going on to meet Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Wednesday at Muradiye Palace.
Her arrival in her home city of Tiaret on Friday sparked further jubilation and she went on to share special moments with her family members.
After winning gold in the welterweight category by dismantling China’s Yang Liu, Khelif issued a defiant statement.
‘I am fully qualified,’ she said. ‘I am a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived as a woman, I competed as woman – there is no doubt.’
Khelif was initially welcome back to Algeria on Monday at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers
She also had the chance to meet Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune this week
The IBA claimed they found male XY chromosomes and disqualified her from the World Boxing Championships last year
However, her coach, Georges Cazorla, has confirmed that the IBA tests identified ‘a problem with hormones’ and ‘with chromosomes’, suggesting that she may have the XY gender chromosomes typical of a man.
‘This poor young girl was devastated, devastated to suddenly discover that she might not be a girl,’ he told French magazine Le Point.
Last year, the International Boxing Association (IBA) disqualified Khelif and Lin from the World Championship but did not expand on their reasoning.
However, in an explosive press conference in Paris, the organisation’s Russian chief, Umar Kremlev, scolded both as ‘men’.
The IBA – discredited by the International Olympic Committee – claimed they had male XY chromosomes and that two blood tests ‘conclusively indicated’ that the pair ‘didn’t match the eligibility criteria for IBA women’s events’.
‘We don’t verify what they have between their legs. We don’t know if they were born like that, or if some changes were made,’ said Kremlev. ‘The second tests confirmed the first tests. If people have doubts, refer to them. They can make their own tests.’
Khelif’s coach Georges Cazorla has admitted that it was a ‘problem with hormones’ and ‘with chromosomes’ that led to her previously being banned from women’s competition
The International Boxing Association (IBA) held a bizarre press conference where they called into question the eligibility of Lin and Imane Khelif
Olympic organisers branded the IBA’s testing ‘so flawed that it’s impossible to engage with it,’ but the IOC does not run any gender tests of their own, simply going off athletes’ passports.
During the Olympics, Khelif’s father Omar produced an official document dated May 2, 1999, which states that Khelife Imane was born a female