Tennis legend Martina Navratilova needed just one acronym for Olympic boxing gold medalist Imane Khelif to win the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year vote.
Kerif was at the center of an uproar during the Olympics after it emerged that an Algerian athlete had failed a gender test in the run-up to the Paris Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) claimed that Herif met all the qualifications and ultimately won the gold medal.
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Imane Kerif competes against Anna Luka Hamori at the Paris Olympics on August 3, 2024 in Villepinte, France. (Mehmet Murat Oner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Mr Kerif received 4 votes and came in 3rd place in the voting. Caitlin Clark won the award and Simone Biles took second place.
Navratilova, who has been a strong advocate of protecting women's sports, responded in a post on X.
“What??” she wrote. This means “what is it actually?”
Kerif qualified for the Paris Olympics, but her gender was called into question at the 2023 championships when she was disqualified before the gold medal match over gender eligibility issues.
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International Boxing Association President Umar Kremlev said the boxer had “XY chromosomes” associated with biological males.
Imane Kherif of Algeria looks at Angela Carini of Italy after a boxing match at the Summer Olympics in Paris on August 1, 2024. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
Boxer Angela Carini withdrew from her match with Kerif in Paris, saying “one punch hurt too much.''
Although Kerif won the gold medal in Paris, she was not the only boxer to win a women's gold medal who was disqualified after failing a gender eligibility test. Lin Yuting of Taiwan, who won gold in another women's weight class in Paris, sparked similar outrage.
The IOC defended Kerif and Yutin's participation in the women's event.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova presents the trophy during the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on June 8, 2024. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
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Kerif became the most Googled athlete that year, largely due to the impact of this controversy.
FOX News' Ryan Mollick contributed to this report.
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