Paris Olympics: Gold Medal Winner Khelif Gets A Rousing Welcome - In Pics

With an outpouring of fans greeting her as she arrived in her hometown on Friday, Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif extolled Algeria for backing its athletes and said she hoped to again make her country proud in the future. The football-obsessed North African country has given Khelif the celebrity treatment since she returned to Algiers earlier this week. Nowhere has this been truer than Tiaret, the largely rural region in central Algeria where she grew up and learned to box. She and track star Djamel Sedjati were honored by local leaders and then paraded through the streets atop a city bus as hundreds of residents raised their hands and snapped photos.

Photo Webdesk

Updated on: 17 August 2024 2:01 pm

Olympic gold medalist in the women's 66 kg boxing Algeria's Imane Khelif | Photo: AP/Anis Belghoul

Olympic gold medalist in the women's 66 kg boxing Algeria's Imane Khelif holds flowers as she arrives after returning from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in Tiaret, Algeria.

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Women's 66 kg boxing Olympic gold medalist Algeria's Imane Khelif | Photo: AP/Anis Belghoul

Olympic gold medalist in the women's 66 kg boxing Algeria's Imane Khelif, second from right, smiles as she arrives home after returning from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in Tiaret, Algeria.

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Algeria's Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif speaks to the media | Photo: AP/Anis Belghoul

Olympic gold medalist in the women's 66 kg boxing Algeria's Imane Khelif, right, speaks to the media as she arrives home after returning from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in Tiaret, Algeria.

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Algeria's boxer Imane Khelif smiles as she arrives home | Photo: AP/Anis Belghoul

Olympic gold medalist in the women's 66 kg boxing Algeria's Imane Khelif, center, smiles as she arrives home after returning from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in Tiaret, Algeria.

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Women's 66 kg boxing Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif returns home from Paris | Photo: AP/Anis Belghoul

Olympic gold medalist in the women's 66 kg boxing Algeria's Imane Khelif, top center, waves from the top of a double decker bus while surrounded by fans as she returns home from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in Tiaret, Algeria

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Olympic gold medalist boxer Imane Khelif waves from the top of a double decker bus | Photo: AP/Anis Belghoul

Olympic gold medalist in the women's 66 kg boxing Algeria's Imane Khelif, top right, waves from the top of a double decker bus while surrounded by fans as she returns home from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in Tiaret, Algeria.

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Imane Khelif, Women's 66 kg boxing Olympic gold medalist, returns home from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in Tiaret | Photo: AP/Anis Belghoul

Olympic gold medalist in the women's 66 kg boxing Algeria's Imane Khelif waves from the top of a double decker bus while surrounded by fans as she returns home from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in Tiaret, Algeria.

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People gather in the streets in Tiaret, Algeria to welcome Algeria's Imane Khelif | Photo: AP/Anis Belghoul

People gather in the streets as Olympic gold medalist in the women's 66 kg boxing Algeria's Imane Khelif waves from the top of a double decker bus as she returns home from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in Tiaret, Algeria.