Boxer Imane Khelif’s Olympic Win Sparks Gender Uproar – ‘What Is Going On?’
Boxer Imane Khelif’s victory against Angela Carini at the 2024 Paris Olympics has created backlash with questions over the fighter’s gender.
Khelif, who represents Algeria, was taking on the Italian in a fight that was over in the first round. Carini took several big shots to the head, forcing her to retreat to her corner to fix her head guard. Once the fight restarted, she took further shots before telling her corner she could not continue. While Khelif celebrated, that was not the end of it.
It turned out that Khelif failed a gender eligibility test last year. This was at the IBA World Boxing Championships, meaning she was not recognized as a woman. She was banned alongside Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting. Yu-ting is on course to fight today.
The International Olympic Committee allowed Khelif to compete, which raised created controversy. But it is believed Khelif has Hyperandrogenism, which is why the boxer had the presence of XY chromosomes. Mark Adams, a spokesperson from the IOC, has now said that Khelif and Yu-ting are women.
“I would just say that everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules. They are women in their passports,” Adams said
Khelif Vs. Carini
“I wasn’t able to finish the match. I felt a strong pain to my nose and I said [to myself] for the experience that I have and the maturity as a woman that I have. [And] I said I hope my nation won’t take it badly, I hope my dad won’t take it badly – but I stopped, I said stop for myself.
“It could have been the match of a lifetime. But I had to preserve my life as well in that moment. I didn’t have fear, I don’t fear the ring. I don’t fear taking the blows. But this time there’s an end for everything, and I put an end to this match, because I wasn’t able to [continue],” Carini
“We took the appropriate action which is only right and proper for our boxing family. It was found that they weren’t eligible to compete as females so that’s currently where we find ourselves,” IBA chief executive Chris Roberts
“Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process. 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. Such an approach is contrary to good governance,” IOC
Further Reaction
“Angela Carini rightly followed her instincts and prioritised her physical safety, but she and other female athletes should not have been exposed to this physical and psychological violence based on their sex,” Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls
“I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions … from my point of view it was not an even contest,” Giorgia Meloni (Italian Prime Minister)
“COA strongly condemns the unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets,” The Algeria Olympic Committee
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