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Olympics: Competitions with intersex boxers continue as normal despite the uproar with the two athletes

What was the reason that the Italian woman decided to throw in the white towel - Chaos on social media

olimpiakiagones olympic games

Reactions have been caused by the International Olympic Committee's decision to allow two female boxers, who have male chromosomes (intersex) but are biologically female, to compete in the Olympic Games in Paris. Algeria's Iman Kelif and Taiwan's Lin-Yue Ting have been targeted and accused of being transgender - despite competing as women all their lives - for being banned from the 2023 World Boxing Championships after failing to pass the gender validity test (s. due to increased testosterone levels).

Iman Kelif plays Hungary's Ana Luka Hamori in the women's 18kg quarter-finals on Saturday at 22:66, while Taiwan's Lin-Yu Ting faces Uzbekistan's Sitora Turdybekova today (16:30) for the phase of 16 in the women's 57 kg category.

The backlash snowballed yesterday when Italy's Angela Carini stormed out of her match against Algeria's Iman Kelif in tears 46 seconds after entering the ring for the round of 16 of the women's 66kg Olympic boxing tournament. .

The Italian boxer may have withstood the first body blow, but the punch to her face forced her to turn to her bench and ask her trainer to leave. "Teacher it hurt me so much, I don't want to continue..." she reportedly told her coach according to Italian media. Her coach couldn't do otherwise and after a while the referee raised Kelif's hand and declared her the winner.

"It was the strongest punch I have received", was the comment of Carini who after the blow she received decided to stop.

“It could have been the match of my life, but at that moment I had to protect my life as well. I wasn't afraid, I'm not afraid of the ring or getting hit. I have competed very often for the national team. I train with my brother. I've always fought against men, but I felt too much pain today," said the Italian boxer.

For her part, the winner Iman Kelif, passing in front of the press representatives, said that she is "God's chosen one to win the gold medal" and that she "will defeat whoever it takes" to achieve it.

What was the reason for Karini's decision

According to the Italian media, the strong punch to Carini's face may have been the reason for her to stop the fight, but the reason she threw in the towel was the strong objections expressed by the Italian delegation and the Italian boxer herself for the participation of Iman Khalif in the Olympic Games in Paris.

Iman Khalif has undergone a gender transition. Last year she was banned by the world federation for her participation in the world championship after the results of the tests she had done. One of these tests, which is called the "sex test", measures the athlete's hormones, such as testosterone, and one of the reasons this is done is for athletes who have undergone a sex change.

As claimed by the International Boxing Association (IBA), the boxers' chromosome tests showed XY chromosomes, which are male, instead of female XX. The IBA has set strict limits for athletes and especially for female athletes regarding the levels of testosterone, the hormone associated with men although it is also detected in women at lower levels.

In this, Kelif was cut having given results that were quite elevated, from what is medically acceptable for female boxers, as the testosterone levels were at the levels of male boxers.

The Italian delegation had expressed its objection to the fact that the relevant committee of the Olympic Games had given the OK to Kelif to compete, which had obviously been done with Kelif passing the required tests.

The Algerian Olympic Committee before the match had attacked the Italian Committee, citing an insulting attack on its athlete. In fact, he had pointed out in it that Kelif had passed the tests which are required with complete success and thus she can normally participate in the competitions.

Kelif and Lin are two-time Olympians and competed regularly at the Tokyo Games. Lynn has been an amateur boxer at an elite level for a decade and Kelif for six years. They were allowed to compete in Paris by the IOC's special team, which has organized the last two Olympic boxing tournaments.

Olympic boxing reached gender parity for the first time this year, with 124 men and 124 women competing in Paris.

The position of the IOC

The IOC is defending its decision to allow women to participate, while criticizing the IBA's decision to exclude them, saying it was taken without the approval of the governing bodies.

He further explains that "we have seen in the media misleading information about two female athletes" and concludes by saying that "the current aggression against the two female athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was made without any due process."

"Every person has the right to sport without discrimination. All athletes participating in the Olympic boxing tournament comply with the eligibility and participation regulations for the event, as well as all applicable medical regulations established by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU). As in the previous Olympic boxing games, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport" he says and adds that "the two athletes have been competing for many years in international boxing competitions in the women's category, including the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and IBA sanctioned tournaments. These two gymnasts fell victim to a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the 2023 IBA World Championship, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process."

The response of the Algerians and Meloni's intervention

The Algerian delegation, seeing the protests grow in size, issued a statement through which it denounced "...in the strongest possible terms the damaging and immoral attacks launched against our famous athlete, Imane Kelif, by some foreign media, with lies that we consider completely unfair ».

However, the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, who has been in France since last night in order to see the efforts of the Italian sportsmen and women up close, also took a position on the whole issue...

Arriving at Casa Italia (the House of Italy in the Olympic Village) a few minutes after the withdrawal of Carini, Meloni did not miss the opportunity and launched an attack against the International Olympic Committee...

"I do not agree with the choice of the IOC and we have said so for several years. When in 2021 the IOC changed the regulations on this matter, we submitted a proposal to highlight the consequences that would arise. It is a fact that with the levels of testosterone in the blood of the Algerian athlete, the fight does not seem fair from the beginning. I believe that athletes with male genetic characteristics should not be allowed to compete in women's competitions, not to discriminate against anyone, but to protect the right of female athletes to compete on equal terms," ​​said the Italian prime minister and deified Carini :

“Thank you Angela for the way she handled the situation. The fact that she retired saddens me even more. Yesterday I was excited when he wrote 'I will fight' because dedication and character count in these things too, but fighting on equal terms counts too. And as I see it, this was not a match on equal terms".

I know you won't give up, Angela, and I know that one day you'll earn what you deserve through hard work and sweat. In a finally fair competition", the Italian Prime Minister wrote to X.

Reactions on Twitter

A storm of reactions broke out on social media after Angela Carini left the ring. Former Tennessee swimmer Riley Gaines, in a post on X, supported the Italian boxer, saying that "Men have no place in women's sports." Elon Musk brought it up again stating his absolute agreement.

Immediately after the fight, Twitter was flooded with messages in favor of the Italian boxer. In the hashtag #IstandWithAngelaCarini (I stand by Angela Carini) they declared their support for the athlete.

One of the many, Elon Musk who commented with an "Absolutely" on the tweet of an American swimmer who said that "men have no place in women's sports".

In addition, many denounced the IOC's decision to compete with the Algerian athlete. "It's a joke," commented other users while talking about "stealing the match" at the expense of Karini.

Source: protothema.gr