Angela Carini, the Italian Olympic boxer at the center of the controversy surrounding her loss to Imane Khelif, has apologized for igniting speculation that the Algerian boxer is transgender, Mediate reported on Friday.
At the Paris Olympics on Thursday, Carini lost to Khelif less than a minute into their boxing match after Carini forfeited the bout following a hard punch to the head. She later told the media that she had never been hit that hard before in a boxing match.
Carini's comments, coupled with the revelation that Khelif had failed an eligibility test in 2023, fueled speculation that the Alegrian was born male.
Following her defeat, Carini refused to shake Khelif's hand.
"It wasn't something I intended to do," Carini told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta Dello Sport. "Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke."
It was later confirmed that Khelif has a rare condition known as difference of sex development, in which the individual has XY chromosomes and higher levels of testosterone. She was assigned female at birth and has identified as a woman her entire life, Mediaite reported, adding that she was observed to have female external genitalia at birth.
The International Olympic Committee and Paris 2024 Boxing Unit pushed back on the dissenters on Thursday and issued a statement defending the decision to allow Khelif to participate.
"We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women's category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments," read the statement.
The International Boxing Association issued a statement on Thursday confirming that Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting had both been disqualified from the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships New Delhi in 2023. The tests "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's statement noted.
Carini told the outlet she would "embrace her" if the two were face-to-face again, and confessed she was saddened by the negative attention Khelif has received.
"All this controversy makes me sad," Carini said. "I'm sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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