Imane Khelif fans praise athlete after seeing new look outside of boxing

Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif, has decided to switch up her look - and her fans are loving it.

Algerian boxer Khelif was arguably one of the most-talked about athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympics - but it wasn't necessarily what she might have hoped for.

In her first fight with Angela Carini, the Italian boxer quit the match just 46 seconds after a few punches from Khelif.

According to her coach, Carini 'felt pain in her nose and said to me ‘I don’t want to fight anymore’. She was also seen in tears and refused to shake Khelif's hand - she later apologised to Khelif for the situation.

Following this, it was claimed that Khelif, along with another female boxer, had reportedly failed the International Boxing Association's (IBA) 'gender eligibility' tests at the World Championships last year - thus disqualifying her.

The International Olympic Committee spoke in defense of Khelif and Lin Yi tung, who was also disqualified for allegedly failing this test, saying that 'the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport', while the Algerian Olympic Committee called the criticism 'baseless propaganda' against Khelif.

Khelif herself also spoke out about the 'bullying' she was receiving, as well as her father.

And now following her gold medal win at the Olympics, Khelif has made a drastic change to her appearance and her fans are here for it.

In a video published by a brand called Beauty Code, she could be seen boxing towards the camera before sporting curly hair as well as pink lipstick and matching eyeshadow.

The post's description - which is written in Arabic - describes Khelif as a 'star' and 'beautiful', adding: "[translated] You just need strategy, strength and punching, which is the essence of her personality."

And viewers definitely agreed with this statement.

One user said: "Her beauty is unique, I love that pretty smile without any trace of make-up, it radiates all the sun,", adding that she is 'beautiful'.

Another said: "Queen of the olympics , honestly I can’t see any difference she was beautiful before."

A third added: "We all saw your true beauty that your soul reflects during the Olympic games.

"You look just stunning! Enjoy your victory. Enjoy your beauty."

"Absolutely beautiful," one said. "And ALL support from USA here! Period."

Khelif recently pursued a lawsuit in relation to the alleged 'acts of aggravated cyber harassment' she'd received - with public figures like JK Rowling and Elon Musk being named in the suit.

Talking to El Bilad, she talked about her experience: "Elon Musk, Trump, this thing that affected me, I’m not lying to you, it affected me.

"I can’t describe to you the amount of fear I had.

"I was afraid, but thank God, I was able to overcome this stage thanks to the specialists who helped me overcome this stage."