Update: And of course…
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Feminists are once again silent after a female boxer was destroyed in 46 seconds by a ‘biological male’ in an Olympic matchup.
After just 46 seconds and two massive shots to the head, Italy’s Angela Carini threw her helmet onto the mat and abandoned the bout against Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, shouting “This is unjust!”
The 25-year-old Carini, an Italian police officer, refused to shake hands with Khelif – who was previously banned from the 2023 world championships by the International Boxing Association after failing tests to establish gender qualification.
After the Olympic match was stopped, the referee raised Khelif’s hand in the air, while a visibly furious Carini yanked her hand away from the official and stormed off, the Daily Mail reports. She then dropped to her knees and burst into tears, saying she had never felt such strong blows in a match.
“I’m used to suffering. I’ve never taken a punch like that, it’s impossible to continue. I’m nobody to say it’s illegal,” she said after the match.
“I have never been hit so hard in my life. It’s up to the IOC to judge.”
Italy’s Angela Carini after lasting just 46 seconds against Algeria’s intersex athlete Imane Khelif.
Biological firestorm at Paris Olympics. pic.twitter.com/BQRTF9Dc3m
— Pete Badel (@badel_cmail) August 1, 2024
“I got into the ring to fight. But I didn’t feel like it anymore after the first minute. I started to feel a strong pain in my nose. I didn’t give up, but a punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I’m leaving with my head held high.”
Following the match, Carini spoke with the press where she was clearly distraught.
She said she did not walk away from the fight as a protest against her opponent’s inclusion, but that was a decision for the Olympics to consider.
She was taken away for medical assessment to examine the seriousness of her facial injuries which included a bruised nose.
Carini’s coach in the mix zone after the fight said: ‘I don’t know if her nose is broken. I have to speak with the girl. But many people in Italy tried to call and tell her: ‘Don’t go please: it’s a man, it’s dangerous for you.’ -Daily Mail
On Wednesday evening, the IBA – which banned Khelif – said that the transgender boxer had initially appealed their decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but “but withdrew the appeal during the process, making the IBA decision legally binding.”
The IBA also directly criticized the IOC, saying “The IOC’s differing regulations on these matters, in which IBA is not involved, raise serious questions about both competitive fairness and athletes’ safety.” However, the IOC position is that Khelif, and Chinese transgender athlete Lin Tu-ting of Taipei, “are women according to their passports,” who had qualified under the rules of eligibility.
XY Chromosomes?
There has been some controversy over whether Khelif was actually born a male or a female – with some claiming ‘she’ has hyperandrogenism, a condition which features higher-than-usual levels of androgens (male hormones). However, earlier this year IBA president Umar Kremlev told Russian news agency TASS that DNA tests “proved they had XY chromosomes and were thus excluded from the sports events.”
The IBA told The Guardian that it had made the decision “following a comprehensive review and was intended to uphold the fairness and integrity of the competition.”
That said, the IOC – which is embroiled in its own Chinese doping scandal, banned the IBA from running the Olympic boxing tournament in Paris due to long-running issues with governance (they’re Russian) – meaning that the IOC’s Boxing Unit, which has more lax entry requirements, is running the show.
The Algerians say the IBA decision to disqualify Khelif hours before the 2023 world championships in New Delhi, India was a conspiracy to deny them a medal.
“I repeat that all the competitors comply with the eligibility rules,” said IOC spox Mark Adams. “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.”
From the IBA:
IBA Secretary General and CEO explained that testing was conducted upon the request of the Technical Delegate and Medical Jury of the Championships. The results became available in seven days and the IBA Secretary General and CEO, acting on behalf of IBA, notified the athletes immediately about their disqualification, giving them twenty-one days to appeal the decision to CAS.
Mr. Yerolimpos confirmed that similar testing was conducted by a different independent laboratory with the same athletes at the previous edition of the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Istanbul, Turkey in 2022. However, the results were received only upon conclusion of the event, hence the athletes were not disqualified back then.
Now, the IOC faces a harsh backlash – including (former) UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, who wrote on X: ” When will this madness stop? Men cannot become women. Why is the British Government not objecting to this?”
JK Rowling also chimed in, writing on X: “What will it take to end this insanity? A female boxer left with life-altering injuries? A female boxer killed?”
I cried watching this. They’ve legitimised men beating the sh*t out of women. Having been at the receiving end of a man’s fists, it took me right back there. That poor woman, all her life working & training for this. Absolutely disgraceful, repulsive & sickening
— Sylphrena (@SylphWindrunner) August 1, 2024
If anyone knows Angela Carini, or has a route to her – please reach out. What she’s experienced is a public mugging. Her safety, her very humanity, have been treated with contempt. She will be feeling angry, humiliated, despairing. I would love to be in touch with her. DMs open
— Helen Joyce (@HJoyceGender) August 1, 2024
And remember…
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