An Algerian boxer who was deemed to have male chromosomes won a fight in the 66-kilogram women’s division at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
Imane Khelif defeated Italy’s Angela Carini after Carini abandoned her match. The fight lasted all of 46 seconds before Carini went to her cornermen to call off the fight.
Khelif celebrated the win while Carini was left in tears. After the fight Carini, was heard yelling to hear coaches in Italian questioning the fairness of the bout.
Angela Carini of Italy reacts after her fight against Imane Khelif of Algeria. (REUTERS/Isabel Infantes)
She then broke her silence about why she abandoned the match.
“I got into the ring to fight,” she said, via Italy’s ANSA. “I didn’t give up, but one punch hurt too much and so I said enough.
“I’m going out with my head held high.”
Carini’s coach, Emanuele Renzini, said that quitting the match wasn’t a part of the plan ahead of time.
“It would have been easier not to show up, because all of Italy had been asking her not to fight for days,” Renzini said. “But Angela was motivated and wanted to do it.
“Of course, when she met her opponent at the draw, she said ‘it’s not fair.’ But there was no premeditation here today She quit after taking one punch, she told me she didn’t feel she could fight.”
Khelif fought under a firestorm of controversy regarding a failed gender eligibility test in 2023.
Angela Carini of Team Italy reacts after abandoning the Women’s 66kg preliminary round match against Imane Khelif of Team Algeria in the first round on day six of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at North Paris Arena on August 01, 2024 in Paris, France. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Khelif was disqualified during the 2023 World Championships, sanctioned by the International Boxing Association. The organization said Khelif, and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting failed to meet gender eligibility standards.
IBA president Umar Kremlev explained the decision at the time, according to Russia’s Tass News Agency. Reuters reported at the time that Khelif tested positive for having high levels of testosterone.
“Based on DNA tests, we identified a number of athletes who tried to trick their colleagues into posing as women. According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have XY chromosomes. Such athletes were excluded from competition,” Kremlev said.
Khelif and the Algerian Olympic Committee (COA) both denied the claims. The International Olympic Committee also cleared Khelif to compete in the Games.
“Everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said. “They are women in their passports and it’s stated that this is the case, that they are female.”
Italy’s Angela Carini fights against Algeria’s Imane Khelif in the women’s 66kg preliminaries round of 16 boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte on August 1, 2024. (MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Algerian Imane Khelif left Italy’s Angela Carini in tears (Getty Images)
The COA called the claims “baseless.”
“COA strongly condemns the unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets,” the committee said Wednesday, via Reuters.
Imane Khelif of Algeria and Angela Carini of Italy react after their fight. (REUTERS/Isabel Infantes)
“Such attacks on her personality and dignity are deeply unfair, especially as she prepares for the pinnacle of her career at the Olympics. The COA has taken all necessary measures to protect our champion.”
Italy’s ANSA quoted Rosario Coco, the president of Gaynet Communications in Italy, as saying that he learned Khelif was intersex and not trans gender.
“In contrast to the reports that have been circulating, the Algerian athlete Imane Khelif is not a trans woman,” Coco told the news agency.
“From the information we have about her, she is an intersex person, who has always socialized as a woman and has a sporting history in women’s competitions.”
