The backlash continues over the short Olympic match between Algerian boxer Imane Kherif and Italy’s Angela Carini.
Kheriff, embroiled in a gender debate at the 2024 Paris Olympics, was declared the winner of Thursday’s welterweight bout after Carini was hit multiple times in the face and gave up just 46 seconds into the bout.
Shortly thereafter, Riley Gaines, a 12-time All-American and former University of Kentucky swimmer who describes herself as a “leader in single-gender spaces for women,” posted on X, “Boys don’t belong in women’s sports #IStandWithAngelaCarini.”
Elon Musk later agreed with her in a post on his X Platform.
“Of course,” Musk wrote, reposting Gaines’ original message.
“Enough is enough,” the 25-year-old Carini said after receiving multiple punches to the face during the women’s 66kg qualifying round at North Paris Arena on Thursday.
“This is not fair,” the two-time Olympian yelled from his corner.
Khelif’s coach, Emanuele Renzini, said many people had warned him not to fight the 25-year-old, who was disqualified from the 2023 world championships after failing a gender eligibility test.
“A lot of people in Italy called her and tried to tell her: ‘Don’t go, it’s a man, it’s a danger to you,'” Renzini told reporters.
“I’ve never been punched like that before,” a tearful Carini said afterwards.
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“I’m used to suffering,” she said. “I’ve never received a punch like that. It’s impossible to continue. I have no right to say it’s illegal.”
“I went into the ring to fight, but after the first minute I didn’t want to fight anymore. I started to feel a lot of pain in my nose. I didn’t give up, but the punches were hurting so much that I decided I’d had enough. I left the ring with my head held high.”
2024 Paris Olympics
Gaines He also shared an emotional photo of Carini. She knelt in the ring and called the moment “heartbreaking” in another X post.
“This photo should bother the IOC (but it won’t)” Gaines wrote.
In addition to Gaines and Musk, YouTuber-turned-boxer Logan Paul also called the Olympic clash “the purest form of evil unfolding before our eyes.”
“Here we have a man who, on a global stage, punched a woman fighting for her deceased father, shattering her lifelong dreams. This delusion must end.” Paul wrote X’s Thursday.
International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said Thursday that the organization “reiterates its commitment to ensuring that all athletes comply with eligibility rules.”
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“But I want to say, this is about real people. This is not a transgender issue, by the way. Let’s be absolutely clear about that,” he added.
Earlier this week, the IOC strengthened its framework of rules.
“All athletes competing in the women’s division comply with the eligibility rules,” Adams said. “Their passports state that they are female and clearly state that they are female.”
Following the controversy at last year’s world championships, Kherif’s presence at the Paris Games angered many.
She was suddenly disqualified from the 2023 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships ahead of her fight against a Chinese athlete due to elevated testosterone levels.
At the time, IBA president Umar Kremlev said that Kherif’s DNA test results “proved that he has XY chromosomes.”
Khelif’s camp initially cited “medical reasons” as the reason for his disqualification but later withdrew their appeal against the decision.
Because the IOC sets its own guidelines, Kherif was allowed to compete in Paris.
in Updating our Equity, Inclusion, and Non-Discrimination Policy for 2021The IOC said each sport’s governing body would “determine whether an athlete may have a disproportionate advantage over other athletes, taking into account the characteristics of each sport.”
