A gender eligibility controversy at a women’s Olympic boxing match at this year’s Paris Olympics has caused widespread uproar.
The controversy was centered around the boxing match between Italy’s Angela Carini and Algeria’s Imane Khelif on Aug. 1. The latter was disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Championships because of elevated levels of testosterone.
Carini asked to stop the match after just 46 seconds because she said that one of her opponent’s punches during that time hurt her too much.
“It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment,” she told journalists after the 66-kilogram preliminary round match.
Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 World Boxing Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after failing gender tests. The association was stripped of its recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2023.
The viral clips of the boxing match between Carini and Khelif have sparked much criticism on social media. The IOC has come under fire from multiple prominent personalities, including author J.K. Rowling and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Accusations of being male and transgender are being made against Khelif. The accusations were dismissed by both the IOC and the Algeria Olympic Committee.
The incident also drew a response from honorary Olympic Boxing Team coach Jake Paul, who expressed outrage at what happened at the match.
“To Angela Carini although your dreams couldn’t come true today because of the crazy agendas that are at play in our world at the moment, I would love to offer you to fight on an MVP undercard, to show the world your talents on a fair platform and not against a man. Internet help this find her,” he wrote.
Another boxer, Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, was also cleared to compete at the Paris Olympics despite also failing to meet IBA gender eligibility standards alongside Khelif in 2023.
The IOC defended its decision to allow both Khelif and Lin to compete at this year’s Olympic Games, and both athletes will continue to move on at the event.
World Boxing president Boris Van Der Vorst disagreed with criticism against the IOC on the issue of the eligibility of both Khelif and Lin.
He told The Associated Press on Aug. 1 that his organization will always put athletes’ safety first in developing its own policies on health and gender, while recognizing that combat sports sometimes require extra considerations to protect all athletes.
But despite this, and although there has not been conclusive proof that the athletes are biological males, the incident has reinforced intense scrutiny on the issue of men competing in women’s sports.
The White House and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris have so far not offered public comment on the incident.
The event organizers have since offered an apology, saying any mockery was unintentional.
