The boxing event at the Paris Olympics has become the subject of a bitter, nasty, and very public fight surrounding the gender of one boxer. The fight has raged mainly on social media, with people from the boxing community and others taking sides. The International Olympic Committee and the International Boxing Association, the body that runs world boxing, have also come out with public statements.
What happened in the bout?
Algeria's Imane Khelif won her round of 16 welterweight bout over Italy's Angela Carini in 46 seconds. Carini's defence was well under-par through the bout, and the punch that landed at the end was taken full on the face.
Post the match, Carini said that she'd never been hit this hard before.
Why did it become an issue?
The speed of victory, and the manner of it -- Carini quit in tears after being subject to a barrage of punches -- were picked up on social media. The main allegation was that Khelif was a man/trans-person and so should be banned from the women's event.
Is she a man/transperson?
Not that we know of. Khelif was born a cis woman as declared in her passport - and it's on this basis that the International Olympic Committee determines eligibility to participate in women's events. She has been competing in women's competition for several years. In fact, she represented Algeria in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as well, where she lost in the quarterfinals.
She finished 17th in the 2018 AIBA World Championships, and 33rd in the 2019 one before reaching the final in the 2022 Worlds, where she lost to Amy Broadhurst.
So, she has been beaten before?
Many times. Broadhurst herself tweeted this out on Thursday:
Have a lot of people texting me over Imane Khelif. Personally I don't think she has done anything to 'cheat'. I thinks it's the way she was born & that's out of her control. The fact that she has been beating by 9 females before says it all.
- Amy Broadhurst (@amybroadhurst12) July 31, 2024
Has Khelif been banned before?
Khelif and Chinese Taipei's Lin Yu-Ting, also participating in Paris, were disqualified by the International Boxing Association at the 2023 world championships after failing an unspecified gender eligibility test. The IBA on Wednesday issued a statement saying neither boxer had had a "testosterone examination" in 2023 but were "subject to a separate and recognized test" for their disqualification. The IBA said the test's "specifics remain confidential" and did not explain it.
If they were banned by the IBA, how are they taking part in the Olympics?
The boxing event in Paris is being handled by the IOC. The IBA had been derecognized by the IOC for financial mismanagement, governance, and integrity issues in 2019.
What did the IOC have to say about this controversy?
With Lin also being subject to these allegations online, the IOC put out a statement where it said, "every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination."
"These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA," the IOC said in its statement.
Joint Paris 2024 Boxing Unit/IOC Statementhttps://t.co/22yVzxFuLd pic.twitter.com/fZvgsW8OOi
- IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) August 1, 2024
"Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process," the statement added. "According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO."
"The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure -- especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years."
In response, the IBA on Thursday condemned "inconsistencies in eligibility" at the Games. "Both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting post testing, did not meet the required eligibility criteria to compete within the female category of our respective events. The urgent nature of the decision (to disqualify the boxers) was justified, as the safety of our boxers is our top priority."
What did Carini have to say about the incident?
"My face and nose were hurting," Carini said, according to the Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport. "I couldn't breathe anymore. I thought about my family, I looked at my brother in the stands and I went to my corner to retire. ... I've never been hit with such a powerful punch."
"All this controversy makes me sad," Carini said. "I'm sorry for my opponent, too. ... If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision."
Carini was apologetic for not shaking Khelif's hand after the bout.
"It wasn't something I intended to do," Carini said. "Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke. I don't have anything against Khelif. Actually, if I were to meet her again, I would embrace her."