Olympics-Boxing-I was born a woman and have been living as a woman, Khelif says

Paris 2024 Olympics - Boxing - Women's 66kg - Victory Ceremony - Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France - August 09, 2024. Gold medallist Imane Khelif of Algeria kisses her medal. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra

PARIS (Reuters) - Algeria's Imane Khelif, the female boxer thrust into the centre of a gender dispute at the Paris Games, said she was born a woman and has been living as such, after winning the welterweight gold medal at the Olympics on Friday.

"I am a woman like any woman. I was born a woman and I have lived as a woman but there are enemies to success and they can't digest my success," Khelif, 25, told a press conference.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Hugh Lawson)