Imane Khelif is refusing to be intimidated by United States president Donald Trump as she looks forward to defending her Olympic title in Los Angeles.
According to The Mirror, the 25-year-old Algerian boxer, who won gold amid controversy at the Paris Olympics last year, has signalled her intention to repeat the feat in 2028 after President Trump wrongly claimed she had transitioned from a man.
Khelif is taking legal action over reports she has male XY chromosomes and insists she was born a woman and lives as a woman.
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 Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu Ting, sparked a gender eligibility debate to which high-profile figures such as President Trump, Elon Musk and JK Rowling contributed.
