The Olympic boxer who abandoned a fight after just 46 seconds has issued an apology to her opponent, Imane Khelif.
Italian boxer Angela Carini has said she hadn’t ‘intended’ to cause issues for her fellow boxer.
The match took place on August 1 2024 and ended prematurely after less than 1 minute. The Algerian boxer received hate and backlash online for failing a gender eligibility test in 2023.
The Olympic Committee has also released a statement stating that she is a recognised female and has every right to compete in the games – ending the statement with ‘every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination’.
“All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit,”
“As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport.”
Khelif was assigned female at birth and has always identified as female.
Carini has since released a public apology for causing controversy around her opponent, it reads:
“All this controversy makes me sad,”
“I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”
Discussing her choice not to shake hands with Khelif, the Italian revealed that she wanted to apologise for her behaviour, saying: “It wasn’t something I intended to do.”Actually, I want to apologise to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.”
