Former UFC star defends Algerian women's boxer Imane Khelif over Olympics criticism

Former UFC star Gray Maynard has defended Algerian women's boxer Imane Khelif over criticism the athlete has faced at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Khelif too part in fight against Italy's Angela Carini in a round of 16 clash that lasted just 46 seconds with Carini abandoning the boxing bout and later saying she has never been hit as hard in the ring before.

Khelif was banned from the 2023 World Championships in New Delhi after failing a gender eligibility test but has been allowed to compete at the Olympic Games.

Despite the controversy surrounding this, Khelif is not a transgender athlete. It's reported there are no transgender women competing at the 2024 Olympics at all. But that has not stopped some from accusing Khelif of gender cheating.

Maynard has now had his say and has defended Khelif on social media.

"I don't agree with male born athletes competing in women sports," he posted. "But I also don't agree with a woman born athlete being persecuted for something she has no control over if it is medical condition."

There are concerns from some that transgender women have an unfair advantage over other competitors but a number of federations have strict guidelines when it comes to this.

The 2023 World Championships were run by the International Boxing Association (IBA) and both Khelif and Taiwan's double world champion Lin Yu-Ting failed to meet the gender eligibility criteria; neither athlete identifies as transgender or intersex.

It's reported the IBA did not detail why these tests were failed but did say neither had testosterone examinations.

This led to Khelif being incorrectly labelled transgender but she has always competed in women's categories and has never identified as male or transgender.

The International Olympic Committee no longer recognises the IBA and the boxing event at the 2024 Olympics is being organised by the Paris Boxing Unit (PBU), an ad-hoc unit established by the IOC's Executive Board.

Speaking about the reaction to the fight, IOC spokesman Mark Adams addressed the controversy and stated that it is not a transgender issue.

"I repeat, all the competitors comply with the eligibility rules. But what I would say is that this involves real people," he said [viaThe Guardian's Sean Ingle]. "And, by the way, this is not a transgender issue. I should make this absolutely clear."

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