IOC Release Strong Statement Following Imane Khelif’s Win vs Angela Carini
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has defended its decision to allow two female boxers to compete at the Paris 2024 Games, amid an ongoing gender row, as they suggested – in an official statement – that ‘every person’ has the right to practice without discrimination.
The Round of 16 welterweight bout between Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Italian Angela Carini was over in just 46 seconds after the latter threw the towel in herself, with the former securing passage into the next round – the quarter-finals – after a swift, yet controversial, victory.
Carini was reduced to tears post-fight and was pictured crying in the centre of the ring. All it took was two blows, courtesy of Khelif, to finish the fight, as The Guardian’s Sean Ingle reported that Carini claimed ‘she had never been hit so hard before’.
International Olympic Committee Release Statement
‘Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination’
Khelif and Taiwan representative and double world champion Lin Yu-ting, who is taking to the ring on Friday, have both been cleared to compete for their respective nations in the French capital this summer.
Both athletes were banned – by the International Boxing Association (IBA) – from plying their trade at the 2023 World Championships after failing an unspecified gender test, per ESPN. The IBA was stripped of its recognition by the IOC last year, which allows the latter to have full control over the boxing competition and its rules at the Summer Games.
The Olympic Body – the IOC – have released a statement in support of the triumphant Khelif following the upheaval, and suggested that all boxing athletes have complied with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations.
“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.”
IOC Slams IBA’s Previous Decision
‘They were suddenly disqualified without any due process’
Adding to their statement, the IOC labelling IBA’s decision to ban them from previous competitions as “abritrary”, while also suggesting their disqualification was agreed without any due process, all while it also suggested that the “current aggression” seen towards the two athletes is purely thanks to the aforementioned decision, as both Khelif and Yu-ting have been allowed to compete in women’s boxing for years before.
“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. 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.”
The IBA’s decision to not allow either boxer to compete at the 2023 World Championships was, according to the minutes available on their website, a decision solely taken by the IBA Secretary General and CEO, with the board only ratifying it once the decision had been made.
Subsequently, a request was raised that a procedure to follow in similar cases in the future be established and, therefore, reflected in the IBA Regulations. In the minutes, it was also noted that the IBA should “establish a clear procedure on gender testing” from there on out.
