Imane Khelif hits back at Donald Trump and targets Olympic gold defence in LA

Imane Khelif has said she is looking forward to defending her Olympic title in Los Angeles, and will not be intimidated by the United States president, Donald Trump.

The 25-year-old Algerian boxer, who won gold amid controversy and huge media attention at the Paris Olympics last year, has signalled her intention to repeat the feat in 2028 and hit back after Trump wrongly claimed she was transgender in August.

Speaking to ITV News in an interview to be broadcast on Wednesday evening, Khelif said: “I will give you a straightforward answer: the US President issued a decision related to transgender policies in America. I am not transgender. This does not concern me, and it does not intimidate me. That is my response.”

That came after Khelif interrupted a question about her dream of repeating her triumph, saying: “Second gold medal, of course. In America, Los Angeles.” Khelif’s triumph in Paris, along with that of Taiwan’s Lin Yu Ting, sparked a gender eligibility debate. High-profile figures such as Trump, Elon Musk and JK Rowling weighed in.

Khelif, who launched a “cyber-harassment” suit in August that named both Musk and Rowling, revealed she was “deeply affected mentally” by the “major media campaign” surrounding her, and said her mother was attending hospital almost daily as her family shared the brunt of the attacks.

The furore followed an International Olympic Committee (IOC) decision to dismiss the blood tests which had prompted the now discredited International Boxing Association (IBA) to disqualify Khelif and Lin from the world championships in 2023.

Khelif said: “As we say in Algeria, those who have nothing to hide should have no fear. The truth became clear at the Paris Olympics – the injustice was exposed and later, the truth was acknowledged by the [IOC] in Paris.”

She added: “For me, I see myself as a girl, just like any other girl. I was born a girl, raised as a girl, and have lived my entire life as one. I have competed in many tournaments, including the Tokyo Olympics and other major competitions, as well as four world championships.

“All of these took place before I started winning and earning titles,” Khelif continued. “But once I began achieving success, the campaigns against me started.

Last week, the outgoing IOC president, Thomas Bach, said the row over both boxers taking part in the Olympics was based on “a fake news campaign coming from Russia.” Bach added: “They were raised as women, they have been competing as women, they have been winning and losing as every other person.”