Irish boxer who beat Imane Khelif in 2022 defends former rival amid abuse over Olympic appearance

Irish boxer Amy Broadhurst has spoken about beating Imane Khelif in a bout in 2022, as the furore surrounding the Algerian Olympian continues.

A spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Thursday (1 August) that Khelif’s participation in Paris was “not a transgender issue”. 

Nonetheless, speculation surrounding her eligibility – which only heightened following Italy’s Angela Carini throwing in the towel just 46 seconds into their fight on Thursday (1 August) – has flooded social media, despite the IOC confirming Khelif complies with the competition’s regulations.

Now, Broadhurst, who beat Khelif in the final of the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, has stepped into the controversy and defended her rival.

Have a lot of people texting me over Imane Khelif”, she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Personally I don’t think she has done anything to ‘cheat’. I thinks it’s the way she was born & that’s out of her control.

“The fact that she has been beating [sic] by 9 females before says it all.”

Khelif’s participation in the boxing tournament has come under scrutiny alongside that of Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, after both were disqualified from last year’s World Championships after failing to meet eligibility criteria.

Lin, who represents Taiwan, was stripped of third place at last year’s World Championships after failing a gender eligibility test. Khelif was disqualified in New Delhi for failing a testosterone level test, following information from the IOC. 

Further details on why the pair were disqualified from the World Championships were not given at the time.

Featherweight Lin is set to take on Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova on Friday (2 August). Neither boxer have commented on the speculation surrounding their participation, but the Algerian Olympic Committee has condemned the attacks on Khelif.