Italian boxer Angela Carini said that she stopped her Olympic bout against her "biologically male" opponent to "save my life." The match between the 25-year-old and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif lasted just 46 seconds. Carini shouted "this is unjust" before collapsing to the canvas and weeping as her Olympic dreams were shattered.
Carini was hit by two powerful punches from Khelif, who had been banned from a major boxing contest before the Olympics. She said the brutal force of the blows made it "impossible to continue." Khelif was expelled from last year's world championships after failing testosterone tests conducted to determine gender eligibility but she was cleared for the Olympics.
Trying to Save Herself from Death
Thursday's bout in Paris is poised to become one of the most controversial in Olympic history, plunging the Games into chaos amid a fierce backlash from figures like JK Rowling, Olympian Sharron Davies, and former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss.
After her defeat, Carini explained that she quit to "safeguard my life," saying, "I couldn't carry on. I have a big pain in my nose, and I said, 'Stop.' It's better to avoid continuing. My nose started dripping from the first hit."
"It could be the match of my life but, in that moment, I had to safeguard my life, too. I felt to do this, I didn't have any fear, I don't have any fear of the ring or to get hit.
"I fought very often in the national team. I train with my brother. I've always fought against men, but I felt too much pain today."
Once the match was halted, the referee raised Khelif's hand in air. However, a visibly enraged Carini pulled her own hand away from the referee and walked off.
Disregarding Khelif, the Italian fighter sank to her knees and began to cry, expressing that she had never experienced such powerful blows in a fight before.
After the match, the distraught Italian said: "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."
"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."
Carini clarified that she did not leave the fight as a protest against her opponent's participation but said that it was a matter for the Olympics to address.
Protest But in Vain
When asked why she knelt at the end of the match, Carini explained it was in honor of her late father, who died in 2021. She added, "I am sorry not to have taken Italy to the podium."
She was then taken for a medical assessment to evaluate the severity of her facial injuries, which included a bruised nose. Carini said: "I entered the ring and I told myself I have to take out all of myself independently from the person I had in front of me.
"And honestly, I don't care. I said to myself, 'This is my Olympics'. Independently, from all controversy, I just wanted to carry on and win."
"I am not one that easily surrenders. Even if they told me, let's not fight, I would not have accepted it. I am a fighter. My father taught me to be a warrior. When I am in the ring, I use that mindset, the mindset of a warrior, a winning mindset. This time I couldn't make it.
"You all saw my nose that started bleeding. I didn't lose tonight, I just surrendered with maturity.
"I wish her to carry on until the end and that she can be happy. I am someone who doesn't judge anyone. I am not here to give judgements.
"I simply entered the ring to fight and to fight for my dream. It didn't happen. Evidently, God and my father wanted this and I accept it. I am not in the position of saying this is right or wrong. I am not. I did my job as a boxer, entering the ring and fighting. I didn't manage to, but I am exiting with my head held high and with a broken heart."
Khelif was banned from last year's world championships after failing testosterone tests intended to determine gender eligibility.
Despite these issues with gender testing, she was allowed to play the Olympics, causing major controversy. Officials at Paris 2024 have recognized her as female in her official games biography.
Also, Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting was disqualified from the 2023 women's boxing world championships for failing a gender eligibility test.
