Boxer Imane Khelif, previously barred from women's events, wins first Paris Olympics fight
Elon Musk, J.K. Rowling, Sen. Marco Rubio and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni all appeared to criticize the inclusion of boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria.
A female boxer whose gender identity has recently been questioned won her first fight at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
Imane Khelif of Algeria defeated Angela Carini of Italy after Carini quit 46 seconds into the match. Carini stopped the fight after only a few punches were exchanged, avoided shaking Khelif’s hand and then fell to the floor in tears.
Khelif’s participation in Olympic women’s boxing has been scrutinized in recent days after reports resurfaced that she and another boxer, Lin Yu‑ting of Taiwan, failed to meet gender eligibility tests at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi last year. At the time, sporting officials alleged that the boxers failed an unspecified test because they had male chromosomes.
Khelif, 25, has always competed as a woman — including during the Tokyo Olympics — and there’s no indication that she identifies as transgender or intersex, the latter referring to people born with sex characteristics that do not fit strictly into the male-female gender binary.
Carini said she ended Thursday’s fight because she felt a “severe pain” in her nose. She added that she is not qualified to decide whether Khelif should have been allowed to compete.
Rating: 5