Who Are the Boxers Involved?
The woman at the center of the controversy is an Italian boxer, Angela Carini. She is 25 years old and competes in the 145.5-pound weight class, otherwise known as welterweight. She previously won silver medals at the world and European championships in 2019.
Source: @jk_rowling/X
The opponent is an Algerian boxer named Imane Khelif. Both women rose to the top of their fields in their respective countries and made it to the Summer Games.
What Happened in Paris?
Shortly after the bell rang for the first bout of the welterweight fight, Carini took a powerful punch that shook her to her core. She cried in the ring and sank in defeat, thinking something was seriously amiss about the fight.
Source: Alexandre Aymard/Unsplash
Afterward, during a press conference, she made remarks that made journalists believe that Khelif might not be a naturally born woman. Carini complained that she had “never been hit with such a powerful punch.”
Why Did Carini Quit?
During the press conference following the fight, Carini told the press she 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.” She noted that quitting this early into a normal match wasn’t a premeditated move, as some have suggested.
Source: @arzuyldzz/X
“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.”
Why Do People Think Khelif is Transgender?
After the news broke about the fight, a discussion immediately ensued in the media, calling Khelif a transgender woman who didn’t deserve to be in the fight, to begin with. However, the reports of her gender have been misconstrued by a potentially corrupt boxing organization.
Source: @Algeria_FC/X
Just a few years ago, Khelif was prohibited from boxing at a championship fight in India after failing to pass an unspecific gender eligibility test from the now-banned International Boxing Association (IBA). However, after the news got a hold of the phrase “gender test,” fake reports began popping up.
Some of the Fake Assumptions
Although the boxing association officially confirmed nothing, reporters and online spectators speculated about what type of gender test a person could fail.
Source: @FRANCE24/X
Many people online assumed that the test proved she either had too much testosterone and XY chromosomes or simply that she was a recently transgendered woman who had male genitalia.
The Olympics Backed up Khelif
Shortly after the rumors began swirling online, the International Olympic Committee released a statement about Khelif’s fighting status.
Source: Solen Feyissa/Unsplash
The organization has repeatedly defended Khelif’s right to compete, stating, “Despite our requests to have certainties and guarantees, both for the safety of our athlete and for the regularity of the competition, they’ve confirmed that (Khelif) is within these parameters.”
The IBA Is a Banned Organization
In 2019, the International Olympic Committee disqualified the International Boxing Association from being recognized as an official sports governing body. The group has had troubling controversies for years but finally burned their final bridge.
Source: @jonathancrane5/X
The IBA elected a president with deep ties to a Russian crime and heroin trafficking organization. The new president, Kremlev, introduced a Russian state-controlled oil company, Gazprom, as the official sponsor and moved the organization to Russia in 2020.
Boxing’s Long History with Corruption
In the United States, boxing is known as an industry ripe with corruption, fixed fights, and money laundering.
Source: Austrian National Library/Unsplash
In the 1940s, boxing became a super popular spectator sport; mobsters discovered they could make huge payouts by buying off the underpaid athletes and asking them to take dives during fights. Since then, the sport has gone through many infrastructure changes, but internationally is still ripe with issues.
Khelif Issued a Statement After the Controversy
Khelif, who has lost several fights to women over the years, sent out a short and sweet message to the haters. She said, “I am a woman,” and backed it up with photos of herself as a young girl with her family.
Source: @JohanSnhji/X
Her home country quickly came to her defense, filled with stands with Algerian flags rooting for her as the next match approached.
The Boxer Has Now Assured Herself a Medal
On Tuesday night, Khelif will face a new opponent for the semi-final bout against Janjaem Suwannapheng from Thailand. Although Khelif was already assured of a bronze medal, she would still fight for gold.
Source: @OliLondonTV/X
Despite the calls that she could be transgender, Khelif has proven to the Olympics that she fits in the women’s category. Often, female athletes can have higher levels of testosterone stemming from the large muscle mass on their bodies.
The Olympics Rules on Transgender Athletes
There are currently no transgender women competing in this year’s Olympic games. However, the governing body for each sporting event makes its own rules on who can compete and what tests they might need to pass.
Source: Justin Casterline/Getty Images
In 2022, headlines broke about trans swimmer Lia Thomas, who was disqualified from ever competing at the Olympics due to new rules from World Aquatics. Many organizations allow trans athletes to compete if they transition before going through puberty.