The Olympic committee has responded after a Boxer who was deemed to have male chromosomes won in just 46 seconds.
The controversy surrounding Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Italy’s Angela Carini is still gaining traction online.
Khelif – who was declared the winner on the welterweight fight after her opponent surrendered 46 seconds in – was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships after failing her gender eligibility tests due to elevated levels of testosterone.
The Algerian athlete’s presence at this year’s games has angered many online. Carini shared on X “Men don’t belong in women’s sports #IStandWithAngelaCarini.”
Other celebs have also shared their views – YouTuber/Boxer Logan Paul wrote:
“A man was allowed to beat up a woman on a global stage, crushing her life’s dream while fighting for her deceased father This delusion must end,”
Spokesperson for the International Olympic Comittee, Mark Adams said:
“I repeat that all the competitors comply with the eligibility rules.”
“But what I would say is that this involves real people. And, by the way, this is not a transgender issue. I should make this absolutely clear,”
The full IOC statement reads:
“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) (please find all applicable rules here). 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.
