Boxer who abandoned Olympics 2024 gender row fight with Imane Khelif after 46 seconds issues public apology
ANGELA CARINI has issued a public apology after abandoning her Olympic boxing bout after just 46 seconds.
The Italian withdrew from her contest against Algeria's Imane Khelif on Thursday.
A gender row has since erupted after Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships for failing a gender test.
Following the bout, Carini said she had quit to save her life after taking two heavy punches from Khelif.
However, the 25-year-old has now explained she wants to apologise to her opponent for how she handled the aftermath of their fight.
She told Gazzetta dello Sport: "All this controversy makes me sad.
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"I'm sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision."
Carini went on to admit she regretted not shaking hands with Khelif, adding: "It wasn't something I intended to do.
"Actually, I want to apologise to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke."
She also said that if she met Khelif again, she would "embrace her".
IOC and Paris 2024 Boxing Unit statement in full
A look at the full statement issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit...
Every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination.
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 (PBU). As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport.
These rules also applied during the qualification period, including the boxing tournaments of the 2023 European Games, Asian Games, Pan American Games and Pacific Games, the ad hoc 2023 African qualifying tournament in Dakar (SEN) and two world qualifying tournaments held in Busto Arsizio (ITA) and Bangkok (THA) in 2024, which involved a total of 1,471 different boxers from 172 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the Boxing Refugee Team and Individual Neutral Athletes, and featured over 2,000 qualification bouts.
The PBU used the Tokyo 2020 boxing rules as a baseline to develop its regulations for Paris 2024. This was to minimise the impact on athletes’ preparations and guarantee consistency between Olympic Games. These Tokyo 2020 rules were based on the post-Rio 2016 rules, which were in place before the suspension of the boxing International Federation by the IOC in 2019 and the subsequent withdrawal of its recognition in 2023.
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.
According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO. The IBA Board only ratified it afterwards and only subsequently requested that a procedure to follow in similar cases in the future be established and reflected in the IBA Regulations. The minutes also say that the IBA should “establish a clear procedure on gender testing”.
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.
Such an approach is contrary to good governance.
Eligibility rules should not be changed during ongoing competition, and any rule change must follow appropriate processes and should be based on scientific evidence.
The IOC is committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes participating in the Olympic Games as per the Olympic Charter, the IOC Code of Ethics and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights. The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving.
The IBA’s recognition was withdrawn by the IOC in 2023 following its suspension in 2019. The withdrawal of recognition was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). See the IOC’s statement following the ruling.
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.
Following their bout, Carini had told the BBC: "It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment."
During the fight, Khelif landed a punch to Carini's face inside 30 seconds, prompting her to go to the corner for her coach to fix her headgear.
The bout then briefly resumed before she returned to her corner once again and the fight was stopped.
Khelif has always competed in the women's division and appeared at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams explained on Friday: "The Algerian boxer was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport."
Following her win over Carini, Khelif will take on Hungary's Luca Hamori in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
The winner will guarantee themselves at least a bronze medal in the women's 66kg weight class.
Piers Morgan has his say
This is a more complicated case than the barrage of shameful transgender scandals which have engulfed women’s sport in recent years.
Khelif reportedly has a condition called Swyer Syndrome which means she has some female reproductive organs but also much higher levels of testosterone than women.
As a result, she has a superior physicality to females, which can be seen by her tall, powerful frame.
In other words, she has an unfair advantage.
And that’s why there’s been such a furious response, led by JK Rowling, Elon Musk, and Martina Navratilova, to the footage of Carini quitting after being smashed in the face.
The obvious, indisputable, medical, and scientific, truth is that someone born with male biology of any kind has an obvious physical advantage over biological females.
That’s why we keep the sexes apart in the Olympics.
Otherwise, women would barely win a single medal.
To pretend otherwise is to be either utterly deluded or wilfully dishonest.