Gender furor erupts as boxer Imane Khelif wins female sports award

Journalists at The Associated Press and its members have sparked outrage after giving controversial Olympics boxer Imane Khelif third place in their Female Athlete of the Year award.

The Algerian took gold in the women's welterweight competition at this summer's Games in Paris.

But it sparked major controversy after the International Boxing Association said Khelif had been disqualified from last year's World Championships for failing gender eligibility criteria.

Despite that disqualification Khelif was cleared to compete by the International Olympic Committee, who ran the Olympic boxing tournament and its entry criteria.

Her first opponent in Paris, mania bola Italian fighter Angela Carini, signaled she could not continue with their bout just 46 seconds in and said she 'had never felt a punch like this'. Read more