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The boxing farce in Paris was a mess of Olympic chiefs' own making... Imane Khelif's victory - and the manner of it - was one of the darkest episodes in the history of the Games, writes MIKE KEEGAN
Forty-six seconds was long enough for Angela Carini. Long enough for two right-hands from Imane Khelif, the boxer her friends and family had been telling her wall week to avoid because she ‘is a man’, to find their mark. Long enough for those punches to detach a chin strap, rock her backwards and leave her blue shorts blood-spattered.
Long enough for her to tell her coach that she was done, for her to sink to her knees in the middle of the ring in apparent protest, smash the canvas in despair and burst into floods of tears that continued after she had spoken to reporters and made her way, disconsolately, to the dressing room.
Hopefully, it will also be long enough for Olympics bosses to take a long serious look at a mess that is entirely of their own making.
‘It hurt so much,’ a distraught Carini, clutching her nose, said afterwards. ‘After the second one I couldn't breathe anymore. I went to my coach and said 'enough' because it takes maturity and courage to stop. I didn't feel like fighting anymore…I have never felt a punch like this.’
Never in the history of Olympic female boxing had a welterweight, 66kg, clash between an Algerian and an Italian garnered so much interest. The press box at the North Paris Arena, down the road from Charles De Gaulle airport was packed with scribes from across the world, craning to get a view.
Imane Khelif - one of the two boxers involved in an eligibility row at the Olympics - won her first boxing match of the Games after her opponent withdrew in the opening round on Thursday
Khelif landed two brutal shots onto Angela Carini before the bout was called off
Italian boxer Carini abandoned the fight after claiming the Algerian's punches 'hurt like hell'
It was a surreal scene. In the build-up, speakers belted out high octane pop songs to an appreciative crowd, most of whom had come to watch others, with this one of 28 fights on the card. On the way in from the nearby station, Eye of the Tiger, by the aptly-named Survivor, had been played over a megaphone from a volunteer’s phone.
Khelif, in red and with short black hair, entered first to no audible boos from the temporary stands. Two small pockets of Algerians waved their green and white flags but the cheers were considerably louder when Carini, daughter of a police officer, walked to the blue corner amid the upbeat strains of Volare, which someone had seen fit to play. The Neapolitan had won silvers at World and European events. She was no mug. She kissed a glove, looked to the roof and made a quick sign of the cross before heading into battle. But this was no battle. This was a mismatch from the off.
Khelif commanded the centre of the ring and went to work. After feigning left, the Algerian clipped Carini on the chin with a right. After a pause, Carini waved to her corner to fix her headguard and exchanged words with her coach. After the strap was fixed she tried a punch of her own, which was swatted away by her rangy opponent who struck again with another right to the chin which rocked her backwards. Again, Carini turned to her corner ‘Non e gusto,’ she said – ‘it’s not fair’ - and that is the central allegation at the heart of the matter.
As Carini sank to her knees in protest Olympic broadcasters sharply cut to a shot of the Eiffel Tower. This may be a landmark moment of its own. Khelif had different emotions. ‘I’m here for the gold – I will fight anybody,’ the victorious Algerian said. ‘I will fight them all.’
Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Tin, who is also competing in Paris, were disqualified from last year’s women’s world championships, with International Amateur Boxing (IBA) president Umar Kremlev – who ran that competition - saying that further DNA tests had ‘proved they had XY chromosomes’. In short, that they had been deemed ‘biologically male’.
Carini's coach told the Italian boxer that it was 'too dangerous' to take on Khelif
But following a dispute with the IOC, the IBA were stripped of their ability to run Olympic competitions and here they both are. IOC rules are deemed more relaxed. Indeed, comms chief Mark Adams had previously warned reporters away from starting a ‘witch hunt’ with the seemingly basic explanation that both boxers had ‘female’ on their passports and thus should be allowed to fight in that category.
Such words may not find approval among Carini’s devastated camp, despite how gracious they were in questionable defeat. ‘I am not one to judge,’ she said. ‘I got into the ring and did my duty as a boxer and tried to fight irrespective of any controversy or anything else. I wanted to win.’
After saying he did not know if her nose had been broken, her coach added: ‘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”.’
On the eve of the farce the IBA released a statement clarifying why Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Tin had been disqualified from the tournament, which was held in New Delhi.
It cited a ‘meticulous’ review which ‘was extremely important and necessary to uphold the level of fairness and utmost integrity of the competition’.
The missive added that no testosterone examinations were held, rather ‘a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential’. That examination ‘conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors’.
The IBA said the ban was also based on tests conducted at the World Boxing Championships in 2022 and said – significantly – that Khelif withdrew an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, rendering the decision legally binding.
In a dig at the IOC, they ‘expressed concern over the inconsistent application of eligibility criteria by other sporting organisations, including those overseeing the Olympic Games’. ‘’The IOC’s differing regulations on these matters raise serious questions about both competitive fairness and athletes’ safety,’ they added. There was little here to suggest those words were not accurate.
Others had given their own views before the fight. Australia’s boxing captain Caitlin Parker voiced fears that one of her team-mates is fighting in the same 66kg weight category as Khelif. ‘I don’t agree with them being allowed to compete in sport, especially combat sports,’ Parker said. ‘It can be incredibly dangerous.’
Carini was hit twice in the opening round before abandoning the contest after 46 seconds
The Italian sports minister Andrea Abodi also weighed in. ‘In the event that represents the highest values of sport, the safety of female and male athletes must be guaranteed, as well as respect for fair competition. That is not how it will be for Angela Carini.’
He was not wrong and the country’s Prime Minister was quick to respond shortly after the shambles. ‘The levels of testosterone present in the Algerian athlete, the contest was not a contest, it was not equal,' said Giorgia Meloni.
Perhaps more damaging for the IOC will be the post-farce comments from United Nations official Reem Alsalem. The body’s special rapporteur on violence against women and girls expressed her concern online, tweeting that Carini had ‘rightly followed her instincts and prioritized her physical safety, but she and other female athletes should not have been exposed to this physical and psychological violence based on their sex’.
Khelif walked through the mixed zone without answering questions from the press. There should also be a level of sympathy, here. There are others who need to provide explanations, and potentially take actions, to address one of the darkest episodes in Olympic history.