Tennis Legend Martina Navratilova Upset Algeria's Imane Khelif Considered For Female Athlete Of Year

Women and men alike were left stunned by the voting results of the 2024 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year Award, which included Algeria's Imane Khelif, a boxer born with XY chromosomes allowed to compete and dominate female boxers at the Olympics this year.

Martina Navratilova. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

Even tennis legend Martina Navratilova is speaking up, upset that four AP writers voted Khelif as the year's top female athlete. Caitlin Clark won the award, with American gymnast Simone Biles as the runner-up and Khelif as the athlete with the third-most votes.

Reacting to news of the AP's votes for Khelif, Navratilova posted on social media: "Wtaf???" 

What The Actual (Eff) is correct.

The AP writers suggested that no female athlete besides Clark and Biles had more of an impact than Khelif, which is a wild claim. Then again, it's no surprise that the outlet continues to be mocked for its coverage.

Algeria's Imane Khelif in the women's 66kg semi-final boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Roland-Garros Stadium on August 6, 2024. (Photo by Mauro PIMENTEL / AFP) (Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images)

To many women across the globe, Khelif's inclusion in women's boxing actually set the sport back. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) received criticism for allowing the XY boxer to compete. Fighting against seven-time Italian boxing champ Angela Carini, Khelif struck Carini with such force that Carini bowed out of the match after 45 seconds. 

As previously reported on OutKick, Khelif, despite the XY chromosomes, was still allowed to compete in the women’s division and ended up winning the welterweight gold medal for Algeria. 

READ: Four AP Voters Pick Imane Khelif Over Caitlin Clark For Female Athlete Of The Year

"Several months after Khelif’s Olympic victory, medical reports emerged that further supported the theory that the boxer has XY chromosomes and not XX," writes OutKick's John Simmons. "Of the 74 voters in charge of handing out this prestigious award, 35 voted for Clark, 25 voted for Simone Biles, and then there were the four who voted for Khelif."

Despite her left-wing politics, Navratilova (and others) are joining the campaign to keep competitors who are not biological women with XX chromosomes out of women's sports to preserve fairness and safety.

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