If you wanted proof that the debate concerning Imane Khelif competing in Paris had descended into farce, you only had to witness the disgusting spectacle in the media mixed zone following her unanimous points victory over Hungarian Anna Luca Hamori.
Khelif had entered the ring for the 66-kilogram quarter-final to rousing cheers and chants from the strong Algerian contingent in the stands. Hamori was booed.
The media tribune, which had been relatively quiet before her controversial round-of-16 win over Italian Angela Carini, was full hours before her bout.
After a slow start, in which she struggled to get inside Hamori’s left jab, Khelif eventually got on top of her opponent with a combination of big left-handed punches and even bigger rights.
When her victory was confirmed by the judges, she ran to her corner and burst into tears as her coaches hugged and consoled her.
A stampede of about 300 reporters and photographers then rushed to the mixed zone – the area where athletes are obliged to speak to the media.
The Imane Khelif fight attracted huge media interest.
I’ve never seen anything like it. The reporter who kept pushing me in the back as we made our way down the stairs was in danger of wearing a straight right himself.
Khelif was then bombarded with questions from journalists screaming at her in different languages as two Algerian officials flanking her shouted back at them.
Soon enough, it became too much. She was whisked away by her support team, again in tears and refusing to answer further questions from the print media.
It later emerged what Khelif had to say to beIN Sports.
An emotional Imane Khelif after her victory.Credit: Getty
“This is a matter of dignity and honour for every woman or female,” the 25-year-old said. “The entire Arab people have known me for years. For years, I have been boxing in international federation competitions, they [International Boxing Association] were unfair with me. But I have God.”
Regardless of whether you believe Khelif and Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-ting should be competing at these Games – and serious questions must be asked of the IOC for allowing this to happen – all concerned would do well to remember these are human beings.
The pile-on needs to stop and people need to be careful with their language.
Three days ago, after Carini abandoned her fight against Khelif, Australian boxer Billy Dib slammed the sight of a “trans woman beating up a biological woman in boxing”, calling it “absolutely disgusting”.
Before this bout, he was apologising for “mistakenly referred to Iman [sic] as male” and lauding her as a “remarkable” athlete.
The IOC also had to issue a correction after president Thomas Bach said, “this is not a DSD [Differences of Sex Development] case” when it clearly is.
While the pair have been dragged into a culture war not of their making, it’s becoming clearer each day that they are also in the middle of a war between the IOC and the IBA.
The IOC banished the IBA from the Olympic family in June last year because of concerns about its management under presidents from Uzbekistan then Russia, amid claims of corruption and concerns about judging.
It was also worried about the organisation’s reliance on funding from Russian state energy firm Gazprom.
A stampede of reporters and photographers rushed to the mixed zone after Imane Khelif’s fight.
In the past few days, there has been no louder critic of Khelif than the IBA’s Russian president, Umar Kremlev, who branded Bach as “evil”.
There’s so much confusion and misinformation about this story, not helped by the lack of transparency from the IOC and the IBA. Neither responded to detailed questions from this column on Saturday.
The IBA’s statement, revealing the decision to ban both fighters had been based on DNA tests in 2022 and 2023, is confusing.
If they failed a gender eligibility test at one world championships, why were they allowed to fight then banned at the next? Conversely, why did both boxers withdraw their appeals?
And how did the IOC not envisage the current imbroglio it now finds itself in having dealt with similar matters involving South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya and Indian sprinter Dutee Chand?
Both underwent heinous testing, including having their legs placed in stirrups while being examined by a doctor. They were forced to take drugs to lower the naturally occurring testosterone in their bodies. They fought their cases in court, just so they can compete.
The dallying from World Athletics, including mealy-mouthed rhetoric from president Seb Coe, meant they were perpetually caught in limbo.
Why the IOC would allow a similar issue to fester in Paris with Khelif and Lin, particularly when they are competing in a combat sport, is difficult to fathom.
The IOC might be talking a strong game publicly, but internally there’s a concession that this case will end up in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In the meantime, Khelif and Lin can only fight what’s in front of them.
On Sunday, Lin fights Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva in the 57-kilogram division while Khelif takes on Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng.
I won’t be there. I’ve seen enough of this morbid circus.
A dash of self-confidence
When the cameras homed in on brash USA sprinter Noah Lyles before his heat in the men’s 100m at Stade de France, he stared into the lens like it was a mirror, attending to his dreadlocks and eyebrows before shadow-boxing.
When he finished second behind Great Britain’s Louie Hinchliffe in 10.04 seconds he was, as the trackside commentators put it, “less bouncy”.
As anyone who follows track, or at least seen the Netflix docuseries Sprint, can attest, Lyles is the embodiment of self-confidence, fuelled by people wanting to see him fail.
“He’s hyped himself,” Olympic legend Michael Johnson said on the BBC before the heat. “He’s dangerous because he runs unafraid. When you run unafraid, it’s very dangerous.”
Earlier in the week, Lyles appeared at an adidas store in Paris, where he posed with a mannequin of himself holding up three fingers, which relates to his world titles in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay.
Noah Lyles prepares for his 100m heat.Credit: AP
This type of overconfidence sits uneasily with some but is nothing new. If anything, it’s reminiscent of another brash American Olympian: Cassius Clay, who became Muhammad Ali.
“The champ is here!” Lyles said when he walked into a media conference last week.
Ali did the same thing when he was about to speak to the press.
We’ll see if Lyles can live up to his own hype in the final on Sunday night.
McEvoy raises the bar
There was no happier man at the La Defense Arena on Friday night than Cameron McEvoy – but his brother, Hayden, was even happier at a nearby Irish pub afterwards.
Families of the Australian swimmers have claimed the bar as their own for pre- and post-swim drinkies. Hours after McEvoy won the 50m freestyle, his brother was shouting tequila shots to whoever wanted one.
“A year ago, he sent me an 80-page science document on how he was going to win the world titles and then he bloody did it,” Hayden told Channel Nine. “He wanted me to edit it and get my advice. I said, ‘You’re wasting time with me’. I’ve still got it on my phone. He’s just amazing. It’s mental. He literally reinvented himself. There’s no greater person to have done it.”
THE QUOTE
“Right now, he’d be astounded, but a gold medal? He’d be over the moon. Actually, he is over the moon.” – Australian boxer Charlie Senior, who is dedicating his performances in the 57-kilogram division in Paris to late grandfather Dennis.
THUMBS UP
The Australian pair of Matthew Ebden and John Peers have won the men’s tennis doubles gold, beating the American pair of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram. It’s the first time we’ve won the Olympic title since the Woodies in 1996 at Atlanta.
THUMBS DOWN
Serious questions need to be asked of Rowing Australia after significant investment from both the Australian Institute of Sport and billionaire benefactor Gina Rinehart yielded just one bronze medal. We can only imagine that the mining heiress will be making some pointed inquiries.
It’s a big day in Paris for … Australians Grace Brown, Lauretta Hanson and Ruby Roseman-Gannon in the women’s road race.
It’s an even bigger day in Paris for … Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz when they compete for gold in the men’s singles on the clay at Roland Garros – just a month since they met in the Wimbledon final, which Alcaraz won in straight sets. Djokovic, 37, has won everything there is to win in tennis – except Olympic gold.
