Boxer Iman Khelif, caught in gender scandal, poses for Vogue Arabia

Algerian boxer Iman Khelif, who was caught up in a gender scandal at the Summer Olympics in Paris, became the heroine of the new issue of Vogue Arabia magazine. The 25-year-old athlete starred in a photo shoot by Tarek Mawad and told about her path to success.

In the photos, Khelif appeared in androgynous looks, which were selected with the help of stylist Barbara Baumel. In an interview with the publication, Iman admitted that before she began to achieve success in sports, she had to sell bread on the road, as well as collect plastic and metal to save money for a gym. “My coach always told me that one day I would become an Olympic champion. He taught me how important and valuable it is. I sacrificed a lot - my personal life, education. I did everything to reach the top,” Khelif shared.

The boxer also touched on the scandal she found herself in the center of at the Olympic Games this year. Let us recall that the whole world was talking about Iman after her fight with Italian Angela Carini - the latter ended the fight after 46 seconds and said in tears that she had never been hit so hard. Iman was immediately accused of being a man, and many Internet users believed that the fight was unfair. Carini later announced her retirement. As it turned out, Khelif was one of two athletes who failed gender tests before the World Boxing Championships last year.

Iman said the incident at the competition was a “difficult experience.” “Even though I won the gold medal, that one incident seemed to last a lifetime. I went through a lot, and it all came back to that one incident. I was able to overcome it because of my faith in God, in myself, and in my dream. Without those hardships, I would never have become a champion,” she said.

Earlier, in August, Iman Khelif starred in an advertisement for the Beauty Code beauty salon in an unusual image for herself.