![\"Olympic](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_GettyImages-2166093972.jpg\")
Olympic champion Imane Khelif celebrates after winning gold at the Paris 2024 Games(Image: Getty)<\/p>\nOlympic champ Imane Khelif unveiled bold new look and reflected on a \u201cdifficult phase\u201d as gender-testing has kept her sidelined from the ring<\/p>\n
18:27 ET, 20 Aug 2025Updated 18:27 ET, 20 Aug 2025<\/p>\n
Olympic champion Imane Khelif celebrates after winning gold at the Paris 2024 Games(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n
Olympic boxing<\/a> gold medalist Imane Khelif has reintroduced herself with a bold new look over a year after her Paris triumph and the gender eligibility controversy that followed.<\/p>\n The 26-year old, who opened up on her “really difficult” childhood<\/a>, was photographed alongside Algerian TV and podcast host Nassima Djaffar Bey, appearing with flowing hair and makeup. The image was shared via Instagram with Djaffar Bey\u2019s caption, \u201cAlways a pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n The makeover arrives amidst a protracted absence from the ring. Khelif, who hit back at Donald Trump earlier this year<\/a>, last competed in 2024, claiming Olympic<\/a> gold in the women\u2019s welterweight division, an accomplishment clouded by eligibility challenges.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Tiger Woods’ ex-wife has already had her say on Vanessa Trump with pair ‘planning wedding’<\/a>READ MORE: Tiger Woods and Vanessa Trump ‘planning wedding’ at fitting venue after Donald’s blessing<\/a><\/p>\n She and Taiwan\u2019s Lin Yu-ting had been disqualified from the 2023 World Championships over alleged gender test failures under the International Boxing Association (IBA), only to be cleared by the IOC for the 2024 Paris Games.<\/p>\n Since the Olympics, the newly formed governing body World Boxing has introduced mandatory genetic sex testing for athletes in women’s events.<\/p>\n The move requires PCR-based screening for the Y chromosome and has sidelined Khelif from competitions, including the June Eindhoven Box Cup until she completes the test.<\/p>\n The organization later issued an apology for naming her specifically in the announcement, acknowledging a breach of privacy.<\/p>\n On the anniversary of her Olympic victory, Khelif posted a heartfelt message on Instagram. She wrote: \u201cIt was an unforgettable moment\u2026 tears mixed with the awe of pride\u2026 Today, on the anniversary of that triumph, I\u2019m going through a difficult phase filled with challenges, silence, and waiting\u2026 But despite everything, the spirit that fought for gold still beats within me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am Imane Khelif \u2014 a champion yesterday, resilient today, and determined to return tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n The broader implications of mandatory sex testing continue to spark heated debate. The policy, announced under emergency provisions, has raised concerns over fairness, safety, and privacy in women\u2019s sport, especially regarding athletes with differences in sex development (DSD).<\/p>\n World Boxing has indicated that athletes with identified Y chromosome material may compete only in the men\u2019s category unless further assessments and appeals are granted.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the IOC has reaffirmed no retrospective action will be taken against Khelif\u2019s Olympic result, emphasizing the need to protect women\u2019s sport after the IBA\u2019s decisions were deemed to have lacked due process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Olympic champ Imane Khelif unveiled bold new look and reflected on a \u201cdifficult phase\u201d as gender-testing has kept…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361240,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4108],"tags":[1935,7126,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-361239","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-olympics","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115065021048152032","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Olympic](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_101381643-15016801-image-a-62_1755676289656.jpg\")
Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif appears with new look in Instagram photo alongside Algerian presenter Nassima Djaffar Bey(Image: Instagram\/Nassima Djaffar Bey)<\/p>\n