Olympic Boxer Imane Khelif Throws Jab At Elon Musk For Questioning Gender: You Led This Attack
Algerian Olympic boxer Imane Khelif faced scrutiny during the Paris Summer Olympics for competing against women despite being unable to confirm XX chromosomes.
Past failed gender tests by Khelif spotlighted the fighter's physical dominance over female boxers, which became evident once Khelif started fighting.
Khelif failed a gender test administered by the International Boxing Association that led to disqualification from the World Boxing Championships, but competed in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
In a debut bout in Paris, Khelif punched Italian boxer Angela Carini with such force that Carini broke down emotionally and surrendered 46 seconds into the match.
PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 03: Imane Khelif of Team Algeria celebrates victory against Anna Luca Hamori of Team Hungary after the Women's 66kg Quarter-final round match on day eight of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at North Paris Arena on August 03, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
OutKick's Riley Gaines, X chief Elon Musk, former president Donald Trump and more spoke up on Khelif's inclusion in the Olympic Games — highlighting another case of men competing against women, which has previously led to injuries against female competitors.
READ: Olympic Boxer 'Pretending To Be' A Woman Pummels Opponent In 46 Seconds, Makes Her Cry
Wanting vengeance on those who criticized Khelif's inclusion in the Games, the welterweight champion threw jabs at the X chief, atop the lawsuit Khelif is exploring to punish Musk for his "cyberbullying."
In an interview with French TV show CLIQUE, Khelif fought tears and criticized Musk for previously calling out the disparities between boxers, namely males and females.
Musk bluntly stated the reality, and Khelif didn't take it well.
"Elon Musk was one of the first to attack me during this hate campaign," Khelif said. "He posted this video and it was retweeted. So, he was one of the first to have spread this buzz, this campaign against me."
Boasting a physical advantage, Khelif cruised to a gold medal in Paris. Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-Ting (also criticized for failing gender tests and competing against women) placed third. The two boxers, Khelif and Ting, had previously failed gender confirmation tests.
PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of Twitter, Elon Musk attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre on June 16, 2023. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
Khelif added, "I would say... you hate me, but you don't even know me. I don't even know why you led this attack. You have been cruel to me, cruel to my family, to my mother. … At that time, my mother was going to hospital every day."
As reported by OutKick's Ian Miller, Elon Musk and author J.K. Rowling were named in the lawsuit by Khelif.
While people will sympathize with Khelif over the emotional roller coaster the boxer faced during the Olympics, women's rights activists contend that the emotional damage pales in comparison to the physical punishment Khelif bestowed against female boxers.
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