Imane Khelif vs. Angela Carini Boxing Bout Controversy

Overview

Imane Khelif vs. Angela Carini Boxing Bout Controversy refers to a high-profile controversy during the 2024 Summer Paris Olympics in which Italian boxer Angela Carini conceded her bout against Algerian Imane Khelif after 46 seconds. Khelif is one of two boxers permitted to fight at the Paris Olympics despite being disqualified from the 2023 World Championships for failing to meet "eligibility criteria," though what criteria they failed to meet was never disclosed. The August 1st, 2024, fight between the two quickly spread online as it garnered significant media coverage and was met with backlash, transphobic comments and smears from netizens across social media platforms, including a rumor going viral claiming Carini refused to fight with Khelif for gender and transphobic reasons. The viral debate sparked a similar discourse to the Lia Thomas swimming controversy in 2022 despite Khelif not identifying as trans.

Background

On August 1st, 2024, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won her opening 2024 Summer Paris Olympics boxing bout when her opponent, the Italian Angela Carini, quit after just 46 seconds. According to The New York Times,^[1] Carini withdrew from the match after her Khelif landed a "powerful blow that appeared to strike Carini square in the face, knocking her head to the left."

The moment was shared on X^[2] by the account @fairplaywomen, amassing more than 28 million views and 41,000 likes in a few hours (since deleted). BBC News^[13] later posted a video on YouTube about the bout (seen below), amassing more than 119,000 views and 1,400 likes in a few hours.

Khelif's 2023 World Championships Gender Eligibility Test Disqualification and IOC Response

On July 29th, 2024, the International Olympic Committee^[3] (IOC) announced that boxers Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan and Imane Khelif of Algeria, who were disqualified at the 2023 World Championships after being judged to have failed eligibility tests, have complied with all rules to fight at the games. Both Khelif and Lin were subjected to DNA tests, according to the International Boxing Association^[4] (IBA) President Umar Kremlev. He said the test "proved they had XY chromosomes and were thus excluded" from the world championships. However, these tests have never been made public and have been the subject of skepticism from the IOC and media outlets.^[12]

On August 1st, IOC officials responded to Khelif's controversial win as the match received media attention and virality online. The IOC stated that the IBA decision to disqualify Khelif and Yu-ting in 2023 was arbitrary and claimed it was the primary cause for the backlash to the two boxers competing in the games,^[10] saying:

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.

Developments

Angela Carini's Response

Although rumors quickly spread online on August 1st, 2024, that Carini had conceded her boxing bout against Imane Khelif due to failed gender eligibility tests, according to the New York Post,^[5] Angela Carini said she “didn’t give up, but a punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I go out with my head held high.”

Imane Khelif Cyberbullying Lawsuit

On August 12th, 2024, Variety^[1] revealed that Algerian boxer Imane Khelif filed a complaint over online harassment in Paris, alleging that the 25-year-old athlete was bullied on social media after her bout against Angela Carini went viral and resulted in "transvestigation" inquiries. Khelif's disqualification by the International Boxing Association (IBA) from the 2023 Women’s World Championships after she failed a gender eligibility test due to elevated levels of testosterone in her system was used by netizens to allege she is not a cis woman, even though she was born female and does not identify as transgender or intersex.

That day, Variety posted the article to its official X / Twitter account, receiving over 16,400 views, in two days (shown below).

Online Reactions

The 46-second boxing clash sparked several transphobic comments and protests against the IOC and Imane Khelif, who is a cis woman, with many calling her "male" due to her previous failure to meet sex-testing standards. Numerous high-profile individuals, celebrities and politicians weighed in on the controversy as it spread in early August 2024.

For example, former United States President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social and including the video^[6] of the Khelif vs. Carini bout, captioning it, "I WILL KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS!" The post (seen below) amassed over 7,300 likes and 2,200 reposts in a few hours since it was posted on August 1st, 2024.

On the same day, influencer and content creator Logan Paul also commented^[7] on the controversy, tweeting, "A man was allowed to beat up a woman on a global stage, crushing her life’s dream while fighting for her deceased father." The post (seen below, left) received over 83,000 likes and 15,000 reposts in a few hours.

Also on August 1st, X^[8] user @Fs_FTBL posted a a picture of Imane Khelif as a kid in defense of the boxer, saying, "She’s born a female, please do not belittle her achievement as a woman and call her a man. It’s not right. This mass misinformation needs to stop." The post received over 25,000 likes and 4,400 reposts in a few hours (seen below, right).

Several YouTubers also mentioned the boxing bout, with many calling Khelif a "trans-man," like the channel @SportsAndNews,^[9] who posted a video on August 1st, 2024, titled "Male Boxer Makes Female Angela Carini QUIT in 46 Seconds After HARD PUNCHES 2024 Paris Olympics!" The video (seen below) received more than 319,000 views and 3,200 likes in a few hours.

Around the same timeframe, numerous users also referenced the South Park transgender athletes episode and drew comparisons or made memes in reference to the Imane Khelif vs. Angela Carini fight (example seen below, right).^[11]

Search Interest

External References