The internet erupted Thursday over the latest Olympics controversy: Italian boxer Angela Carini abandoned her fight against Algerian opponent Imane Khelif just 46 seconds into their match.
The shocking and painful moment, which included Carini breaking down in tears inside the ring, is further igniting controversy over allowing biological men to compete in female sports.
But at this point it’s unclear if this match definitively meets that criteria.
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Khelif — whom outlets like Fox News have said was “deemed to have male chromosomes” — is allegedly one of two boxers competing at the Olympic games this year who previously failed gender eligibility tests and, as a result, was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships, according to The Guardian.
However, Khelif reportedly doesn’t identify as transgender. Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who is the second boxer to have purportedly failed gender eligibility tests, also hasn’t embraced the label, according to Time.
The IBA released a statement Wednesday addressing the situation surrounding both Khelif and Yu-ting.
“On 24 March 2023, IBA disqualified athletes Lin Yu-ting and Imane Khelif from the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships New Delhi 2023,” it read. “This disqualification was a result of their failure to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in the women’s competition, as set and laid out in the IBA Regulations. This decision, made after a meticulous review, was extremely important and necessary to uphold the level of fairness and utmost integrity of the competition.”
The IBA went on to say the athletes didn’t undergo a testosterone exam but went through “a separate and recognized test” with specifics that “remain confidential.”
That test, according to the IBA, found the individuals “did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.”
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Reprinted with permission from cbn.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.
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