A tennis legend Martina Navratilova Olympic boxing gold medalist Emani Khalif needed just one acronym to answer her vote for the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year award.
Khalif was under fire throughout the Olympics when it was revealed that the Algerian fighter had failed a gender test in the run-up. The Paris Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) maintained that Khalif met all the requirements for the competition and eventually won the gold medal.
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Emani Khalif competes against Anna Luca Hamori during the Paris Olympic Games on August 3, 2024 in Villepinte, France. (Mehmet Murat O’Neil/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Khalif finished third in the voting, garnering four votes. Caitlin Clarke won the award and Simone Biles came second.
Navratilova, a staunch supporter of the preservation of women’s sports, responded in a post on X.
“Wtaf???” he wrote, meaning “what the real f—.”
Khalif qualified for the Paris Olympics, but was disqualified from the 2023 championships before the gold medal match over gender eligibility issues, putting Khalif’s gender into question.
International Boxing Association president Umar Karimlev said the boxer had “XY chromosomes”, which are associated with biological males.
Emani Khalif of Algeria watches Angela Carini of Italy after their boxing match at the Summer Olympics in Paris on August 1, 2024. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
Angela Carini, a boxer, said after losing her bout against Khalifa in Paris that “one punch hurt too much.”
Khalif won gold in Paris and was not the only women’s gold medalist to be disqualified for failing a gender eligibility test. Taiwan’s Lin Yu Ting also won gold in another women’s weight class in Paris, sparking similar outrage.
The IOC defended the inclusion of Khalif and Yu Ting in the women’s competition.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova presents trophies at the French Open at Roland Garros on June 8, 2024 in Paris. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
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The Caliph was the highest. Googled Athlete of the year, largely due to controversy.
Fox News’ Ryan Mork contributed to this report.
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