Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif has broken her silence in the wake of new measures announced to ‘protect the female category’ in sport – as controversy continues to swirl around her Paris gold medal.

Khelif, 26, became a national hero in Algerian last summer after claiming gold in the women’s 66kg division at the 2024 Olympics. But her triumph was marred by the emergence of past medical disputes, including claims she had been barred from the 2023 World Championships after reportedly failing gender eligibility tests.

Khelif is not transgender and was assigned female at birth, but her eligibility has been questioned due to reported hormone levels that allegedly exceeded thresholds set by boxing authorities.

Calls for Khelif to be stripped of her medal intensified in recent weeks, with the president of the International Boxing Association demanding she hand it back. 

However, new International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry has insisted there will be no retrospective action on Khelif’s result, confirming she will be allowed to keep her Olympic title.

Khelif had maintained a public silence throughout the furore – until now. Posting on Instagram, the boxer shared a defiant message alongside a selfie, writing: ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.’

Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif posted a selfie to Instagram on Monday alongside the words: ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts’

Khelif won a gold medal in the women’s 66kg division at the Olympics in Paris last summer

Her win was marred by questions about her gender eligibility but new International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry has confirmed Khelif’s victory will continue to stand

Khelif also included lyrics from Sia’s song I’m Still Here, which speaks of resilience and survival.

Her post came just days after Coventry, in her first major address as IOC president, announced the formation of a working group tasked with safeguarding women’s sport while confirming a ban on transgender athletes and those with differences of sexual development from competing in female categories.

‘There was overwhelming support that we should protect the female category,’ Coventry said in a livestreamed meeting. ‘We understand that there will be differences depending on the sports. But it was fully agreed that, as the IOC, we should place emphasis on protection of the female category.’

Coventry added that the IOC would not revisit past results, saying: ‘We are not going to be doing anything retrospectively. We are going to be looking forward.’

However, Khelif’s future in the ring remains uncertain. World Boxing has recently introduced mandatory testing to confirm athletes’ eligibility for women’s competitions, a move that could prevent Khelif from defending her Olympic title unless she complies with the new requirements.

For now, Khelif appears determined to keep fighting, sharing a message of persistence with her followers as the debate over fairness in women’s sport continues to escalate in the lead-up to the next Olympic cycle.