Imane Khelif has been in the limelight since she stepped into the boxing ring at the Paris Olympics boxing match against Angela Carini. Fast forward to three weeks, and now she is the Olympic gold medalist and now finds herself on the cover of Vogue Magazine. The posts of her on the fashion magazine cover are spreading on the internet like wildfire. However, the doubts remain.

Khelif, 25, has endured the criticism about her gender and faced the questions and hate about the same. But she also turned heads when she partnered with Beauty Code, where she made a transition from the boxer’s red glove and uniform to a floral shirt and earring. It was a smart take on the recent controversy and suggested that the Algerian boxer could do both.

Now, the posts of Khelif in grandiose traditional headgear and red attire on the cover of Vogue Algeria are getting traction on the internet. Fans are sharing the image, which puts the welterweight boxer’s feminine features at the forefront. Additionally, the fans could notice the application of cosmetics on her face. Therefore, the cover celebrates her femininity. The words on the cover read, “The first Algerian, Arab and African woman to win an Olympic Gold.”

Even the Team USA coach, Christine Lopez, shared the same on her X handle and added a salute and clapping hands emoji as the caption. But is it the official cover of Vogue Algeria?

Is Imane Khelif really featured on the Vogue cover?

Upon looking for Vogue Algeria, the search query doesn’t return any helpful information or insight. In fact, Vogue Algeria doesn’t exist. An artist has made the cover that fans are sharing. A closer look at the poster reveals the name Cheikh Boumsersseb, whose Instagram handle has other such projects as well. The artist has imagined the boxer in different avatars, such as the queen of hearts, on a deck of cards.

Furthermore, they have made another Vogue Algeria cover featuring Khelif, where she could be spotted in traditional attire with red boxing gloves on her hands. Hence, the amateur boxer wasn’t featured on the Vogue Magazine cover, contrary to what fans are claiming and sharing on the internet.

Moreover, Khelif finds herself making more headlines for the lawsuit that she filed against Elon Musk and J. K. Rowling. Amid the looming lawsuit, the British author has launched another attack on the Olympic gold medalist and blasted her for the campaign with Beauty Code. Her post read, “It’s important to highlight that launching a PR campaign and applying layers of thick makeup requires far more time and effort than simply making DNA test results public.”

Imane Khelif’s struggles with authorities started with the IBA disqualifying her from last year’s World Championship for failing an eligibility test. It has since haunted her and was only amplified during the Paris Olympics gender controversy. However, several fans and artists are now coming to her defense, as hinted by this Vogue Algeria artwork and the traction it has received.