An Algerian boxer competing at the Paris Olympics in women’s boxing has come under fire after it was revealed that the athlete, Imane Khelif, was previously disqualified from the 2023 world championships after failing gender eligibility tests. On Thursday, Khelif won a bout against Italy’s Angela Carini in just 46 seconds.
Italian coach Emanuele Renzini told reporters that Carini didn’t want to continue the fight after being punched in the nose by Khelif, according to USA Today. "After one punch she feel big pain," Renzini told reporters. Khelif won by ABD, meaning "abandoned."
The 66kg (146 pounds) women’s welterweight division fight was scheduled to go for three three-minute rounds. The fight ended 46 seconds into the first round.
Both Khelif, as well as Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting who is scheduled to fight on Friday, won medals at the 2023 world championships, but were stripped of their medals after officials announced that they had failed their gender eligibility tests. The world championships were overseen by the International Boxing Association (IBA), which was banished by the IOC last year. In the IBA’s place, the International Olympic Committee developed an ad-hoc unit to run the Olympic boxing tournament.
According to TIME, the Russian-led IBA stated at the time that the athletes had "pretended to be women" and were stripped of their medals because tests showed that "they have XY chromosomes." Women typically have XX chromosomes, though some genetic conditions can cause a woman to be born with XY chromosomes, such as Swyer Syndrome. The outlet noted that Khelif and Lin have never identified as men, transgender, or intersex.
The IOC has stated that both boxers have met the criteria to compete in Paris, and while they did not detail the criteria met, they stated that both athletes’ passports state that they are women. Notably, the two athletes competed at the Tokyo Olympics, with Khelif being eliminated in the quarter-finals and Lin being eliminated in round 16.
“All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations,” the IOC said in a statement on Monday.
In a joint statement posted on Thursday, the IOC and Paris 2024 Boxing Unit said that "Every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination," adding that all athletes "participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit. As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport."
They later added, "We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments."
"These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process."
In a Tuesday press conference, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said, "Everyone competing in the women’s category is participating, following, complying with the competition eligibility rules. ese athletes have competed many times before for many years—they haven’t just suddenly arrived."
Among those who criticized Khelif being allowed to fight was Italian Family and Equal Opportunities Minister Eugenia Roccella, who said "It is surprising that there are no certain, strict, uniform criteria at the international level, and that there can be a suspicion, and far more than a suspicion, of an unfair and potentially dangerous contest for one of the contenders at the Olympics, an event that symbolizes sporting fairness."
