Outrage Over Boxing Gender Storm at Paris 2024 Olympics

“I have never been hit so hard in my life. It is up to the IOC to judge.”

The Paris 2024 Olympics has been overshadowed by a significant controversy involving gender tests in boxing. Italian boxer Angela Carini and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif have become central figures in a heated debate about gender eligibility in sports.

Carini, an Italian boxer, broke down in tears after abandoning her bout against Khelif just 46 seconds into the match. The fight has brought the issue of gender tests and eligibility in sports to the forefront of Olympic discussions.

Carini faced off against Khelif at the North Paris Arena. Khelif, who had previously been disqualified from the women's world championships in 2023 for failing International Boxing Association (IBA) gender eligibility tests, was allowed to compete in the Olympics despite the controversy.

The fight was intense and short-lived. Khelif's first punch dislodged Carini’s chinstrap, and subsequent punches left Carini bloodied and in pain. Carini, fearing a serious injury, raised her hand and ended the fight, later stating, “I have never felt a punch like this.”

The 25 year old female boxer from Naples fought through tears to explain that it was the injury, and not a protest, that forced her abandonment. “I felt a strong pain in my nose and ... could no longer finish the match,” she said. “I am heartbroken because I am a fighter, my father taught me to be a warrior. I felt all the controversy that there has been ... that was not something that stopped me or blocked me mentally.”

Carini added, “I got into the ring to fight. I didn’t give up, but one punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I am in pieces because I am a fighter, they taught me to be a warrior. I have always tried to behave with honour, I have always represented my country with loyalty. This time I didn’t manage to because I couldn’t fight any more. Regardless of the person I had in front, of me, which doesn’t interest me, regardless of all the row, I just wanted to win. I wanted to face the person that I had in front of me and to fight.”

Carini said it was “not up to me to judge” whether Khelif should have been barred from the competition. “I did my job.”

Carini's coach, Emanuele Renzini, shared his perspective, “She felt pain in the nose and said to me, ‘I don’t want to fight more’,” Renzini told reporters in broken English. “People say, ‘Don’t go, it’s dangerous, she’s a man’. Maybe it’s this (why she quit).”

Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, weighed in, saying: “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.”

Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, expressed concern for Carini, tweeting, “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.”

Khelif, on the other hand, remains focused on her goal. “I am here for gold,” she told the BBC while the Algerian Olympic Committee condemned the negative attention towards Khelif, calling it “unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete.”

Gender Tests Discrepancies

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU) have distinct rules for gender eligibility. For the Olympics, the gender and age of athletes are based on their passports, and all athletes must comply with the competition’s eligibility and medical regulations.

In contrast, the International Boxing Association (IBA) had stricter gender tests. The IBA's eligibility criteria prevents athletes with typically male XY chromosomes from competing in women’s events. This led to the disqualification of Khelif and another boxer, Lin Yu-Ting from the IBA World Championships due to their XY chromosomes, with the International Boxing Association (IBA) president, Umar Kremlev, saying that The DNA tests had “proved they had XY chromosomes and were thus excluded”.

In a statement yesterday, the IBA condemned “inconsistencies in eligibility” at the Paris Games.

“Both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting post testing, did not meet the required eligibility criteria to compete within the female category of our respective events,” the body added. “The urgent nature of the decision (to disqualify the boxers) was justified, as the safety of our boxers is our top priority.”

“We absolutely do not understand why any organisation would put a boxer at risk with what could bring a potential serious injury within the ‘Field of Play’ (FOP),” reads the statement. The main role of the referee in the ring is to manage the boxer’s safety at all times. How is this reasonably practicable when a boxer fails to meet the eligibility criteria to compete?”

“The IBA will never support any boxing bouts between the genders, as the organization puts the safety and well-being of our athletes first. We are protecting our women and their rights to compete in the ring against equal rivals, and we will defend and support them in all instances; their hopes and dreams must never be taken away by organisations unwilling to do the right thing under difficult circumstances.

“IBA stands by its position and will continue to support all athletes within the spirit of the rules.”

But the IBA was stripped of its recognition by the IOC last year over governance and finance issues, with the Olympic body running the boxing competition in Paris itself, and it allowed both women to participate.

Furthermore, the IOC issued a statement that confirmed that said both boxers had “complied” with its entry regulations and “have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category”.

“As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport,” it added.

The IOC defended its decision to allow the athletes to compete as women, saying that the pair were facing “aggression” because of what it is calling an “arbitrary decision” by the IBA. “Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process,” the IOC said. “According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO.”

The IOC added, “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. The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving,” it added. “Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination.”

Lin is due to face Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova in a featherweight bout in Paris on Friday.

As the debate continues, the IOC has expressed the need for clear and consistent rules based on scientific evidence and appropriate procedures, saying that the “IOC has made it clear that it needs National Boxing Federations to reach a consensus around a new International Federation in order for boxing to be included on the sports programme of the Olympic Games LA28.”

The outcome of this controversy may shape future policies on gender eligibility in sports, aiming to balance fairness and inclusivity.

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