It’s baffling that we’ve gotten this far.
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On the first of this month, Italian female boxer Angela Carini matched up against Algeria’s Imane Khelif, but the fight didn’t last long. After enduring two punches to the face, Carini left the Olympic women’s boxing match 46 seconds in, saying she had “never taken a punch like that.” She dejectedly collapsed in the ring and pronounced the fight “unjust.”
Khelif is one of two boxers in women’s boxing who is in the middle of a controversy involving failed eligibility requirements placed by the International Boxing Association. Last year, the IBA president told Russian news that the boxers had XY chromosomes based on a genetic test. While the IBA disqualified Khelif and the other boxer, the International Olympic Committee allowed them to compete, calling into question the IOC’s safety standards for women’s sports. For her part, Carini followed up by saying in the aftermath that her decision stemmed from having “the maturity to stop” and wished her opponent well in future matches.
