On August 1, 2024, Imane Khelif of Algeria competed against Angela Carini of Italy in the women’s 66 kg boxing event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The bout took place in the North Paris Arena in Villepinte, France. The match lasted only 46 seconds. After exchanging a few punches, Carini decided to quit the fight and retreated to her corner.
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Imane Khelif is a boxer from Algeria. She has won a silver medal at the 2022 International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships.
Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships for allegedly failing a gender eligibility test.
Khelif’s presence at the Paris Olympics has been divisive with some questioning her eligibility due to the gender test controversy. Her passport identifies her as female and she competed as a woman in the Tokyo Olympics as well.
Imane Khelif is a 25-year-old Algerian boxer who gained recognition for her skills in the ring. Khelif’s dream of competing in the Olympics became a reality when she qualified for the Paris 2024 Games.
Khelif was disqualified from the women’s World Championships in New Delhi in 2023 due to failing a gender eligibility test.
Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting faced a similar fate. The International Boxing Association (IBA) did not specify why Khelif and Lin failed their gender eligibility tests and neither athlete underwent testosterone examinations.
Imane Khelif is back in the ring at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She is scheduled to fight on Saturday, August 3rd with her opponent yet to be determined.
In her round-of-16 bout against Italy’s Angela Carini, Khelif secured a victory when Carini quit just 46 seconds into the match after receiving a punch from Khelif.
Angela Carini expressed that she decided to stop the fight because of the intense pain she felt in her nose after Khelif’s punches.
She addressed that her decision was not a political statement and that she respects the rules of the competition.
Italy coach Emanuele Renzini mentioned that he discussed the challenges with Carini before the match. He offered her the option to withdraw earlier, but Carini was determined to fight until she felt unable to continue.
Carini expressed her heartbreak over not finishing the match stating that she always aims to step into the ring with honor and represent her country loyally.
Carini, visibly emotional after the fight expressed her feelings about the match. She stated, “It’s not right, it’s not right.”
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Carini explained that her decision to withdraw was based on instinct and a need to preserve her well-being, saying, “I’m a mature woman… It’s having the maturity to stop.”
The fight received attention from various political figures and public personalities. Former President Donald Trump, J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk criticized Khelif’s participation.
With an equal number of male and female competitors (124 each). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has worked to achieve gender parity and address eligibility issues.
The IOC stated that eligibility for the Paris Olympics is based on athletes’ passports. For the 2024 Games, the criteria adhered to the rules from the 2016 Rio Olympics even though several sports have since updated their gender policies.
The IOC criticized the IBA’s handling of gender eligibility specifically targeting the disqualification of Khelif and Lin Yu-ting at the 2023 World Championships.
The IBA was formerly known as AIBA and faced numerous challenges including governance problems and allegations of corruption in judging and refereeing. The IOC revoked the IBA’s Olympic status due to these concerns.
A new organization called World Boxing has emerged. It aims to become the recognized governing body for the sport replacing the IBA by the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
The IBA has maintained that Khelif and Lin failed eligibility tests, though it has not disclosed specific details about these tests.
Khelif’s next bout is scheduled for Saturday, where she will face Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary in the women’s 66 kg quarterfinals. Hamori, Hungary’s first Olympic women’s boxer and she has expressed no concerns about facing Khelif.
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