Olympics: Intersex boxer Iman Khalif wins again and breaks down in tears in front of cameras around the world: ‘This is a victory for all women’

“Take it, take it! Take it now!” the former middle-distance runner shouted. Hasiba BulmerkarThe best athlete in Algerian history, current Secretary General of the Algerian Olympic Committee, boxer at the time Iman Khalif “She was walking through the mixed zone at the Pars Nord Arena when her coach stopped her to speak to some media. About 200 journalists from all over the world were crowded in front of her and she was crying and crying. I’ve been crying since I left the ring.”

“I feel good. This is the first medal for an Algerian boxer. I want to thank everyone, especially the Arabs,” she declared to the BBC, the only British media she attended, after defeating the Hungarian. Anna Luca Hamori He dominated from start to finish in the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics. “This is a victory for all women,” he declared.

As her competitors before her had done, the Italian Angela CariniHamori also criticized Khalif on social media during the preview – “I’m competing against a man” – but then he faced her in a three-way match Fire Bullet In fact, in the first fight, despite the unanimous decision of the judges, the Algerian landed several great strikes.

“She is 100% female, she has the right to compete, sport must unite people and not divide them. I am the first Olympic champion in the history of Algeria (1500 meters at the 1992 Olympics) and I hope that she can be my successor”, declared Bourmerka, national symbol and winner of the Prince of Asturias Sports Award in 1995, in a brief conversation with Le Monde.

“Today many people came here, all of Algeria is with Imane,” he said of the reality that the country has committed itself to the boxer. Faced with global controversy over bisexuality and criticism from half the world, the entire Algerian delegation and parts of other countries, such as Palestine, spared no effort to turn the boxing headquarters into a cauldron. If there were boos, they were taken by opponent Hamori. Khalif received only cheers when entering and leaving, and slogans that supported her throughout the fight: “Imane, Imane, Imane!”

“I can’t say a bad word”

“Our job is to protect her. She has to focus on the game. That’s why she left her phone with us and everything we read on social media doesn’t count,” he assured the newspaper. Bashir Moktari“She is a woman and must compete as a woman,” added the Algerian Olympic Committee spokesperson and Spanish teacher in her free time. “She is a victim of persecution by the international sports federations, who used her to fight against the IOC, but all this made her stronger.”

Minutes after the media whirlwind engulfed Khalif, his rival Hamori spoke to the media and, far from what she said in the previous meeting, she was more restrained: “I can’t say bad things about her. It was a difficult day.” “I respected it, I had the chance to win the match, I gave it my all, but the match ended like this, and I hope that future matches won’t be different. It ruined my match.”