The sport was full of emotions in 2024, from unforgettable events that will remain in the memory of the fans. The ones who stole the headlines were the athletes who participated in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. According to research by Google, those who had an Olympic presence and boxers were the most popular.
The number one was not only for a victory, but for a controversial issue that quickly became media in social networks and generated all kinds of debate and comments.
These are the 10 most searched athletes of the year on Google
- Imane Khelif
- Mike Tyson
- Lamine Yamal
- Simone Biles
- Jake Paul
- Nico Williams
- Hardik Pandya
- Scottie Scheffler
- Shashank Singh
- Rodri
The world witnessed how Imane Khelif won the gold medal in women’s boxing during the Paris Olympic Games this summer, but even more striking was the controversy that arose, as it was said that she was a transgender boxer.
Khelif generated more searches on Google than superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafa Nadal and Lionel Messi.
The controversy of the year
The Algerian boxer who won the gold medal at Paris 2024, received all kinds of comments and cyberbullying, as many claimed that she competed against women despite allegedly having XY chromosomes.
It all started when Khelif knocked out Italy’s Angela Carini in 46 seconds.
Quickly, the networks brought up a controversy from 2023, when Imane Khelif was disqualified from competitions for gender eligibility problems, when it is only a hormonal problem that the Algerian has.
A couple of weeks after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the boxer and her lawyer said they would take legal action against anyone who questioned her sexuality and sporting dignity.
One of the most memorable cases was that of Logan Paul, Jake’s brother, who dedicated a strong post on X expressing his deep disappointment with the Olympic committee for allowing a man to fight with women.
That post was deleted by the WWE content creator and fighter, who later apologized for spreading false information, but continued with his same argument that biological men cannot compete against biological women.
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