Imane Khelif Prize Money for Olympics Gold Medal

Imane Khelif claimed Olympic gold last night, the 9th of August, after defeating China’s Yang Liu, and is set to take home some serious earnings as well as her medal. The Algerian became the champion by defeating Liu via unanimous decision in the women’s welterweight division. She now joins the history books in her home country as the 26-year-old has become just the second person in Algerian Olympic history to claim a gold medal.

With winning gold, Khelif is set to earn some life-changing money. According to essentiallysports, the Algerian is due to cash in £78,515 in prize money. Half of this is hers to keep, yet the remaining 50% is due to be split with her coach and the Algerian boxing federation. Had she not had won, or in China’s Liu’s case, the silver medallist boxer still gets their hands on £39,300.

The Controversy Surrounding Imane Khelif

All this money is not funded by the Olympics, though, it comes through another governing body in the form of the International Boxing Association. IBA are the body which sanctions the majority of amateur and professional fights. This is where it gets complicated. It has been highly documented throughout the Olympics the controversy in which Imane Khelif holds regarding gender. This was first addressed after Italian Angela Carini retired from their fight earlier on in the competition after just 46 seconds, leaving the ring in floods of tears.

Khelif was set to compete in the Women’s World Boxing Championships last year, however, was disqualified by the IBA after failing gender eligibility tests. These tests by the International Boxing Association are still yet to be made public, however, president of the organisation, Umar Kremlev, came out at the time claiming she had XY chromosomes. Yet, no evidence has ever come out to support this claim.

The IBA do not sanction nor govern the Olympics and Khelif passed all the checks done by the organisers. The 26-year-old has made it clear she was born a female and identifies as a female. The controversy surrounding her name has also led to her father appearing on French television to show proof of her birth certificate. This led to an apology from Italy’s Carini, after the way she handled herself post-fight.

Imane Khelif’s Journey at the Paris Olympics

Despite the criticism, Khelif went on to beat Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori and Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng to earn herself a spot in the final. The controversy remains, though, due to the fact that the people in charge of her glorious earnings are the same people who wouldn’t let her box in their competitions. So, does this mean they will refuse to pay out? Or will it be different given the fact it was a different body governing the actual fight at the Olympics?

It also raises further questions about Khelif’s future in the sport of boxing. Will we see Kremlev allow her to box in IBA’s competitions going forward? Or will she have to find other sanctioning bodies to fight in?