(Breaking news – developing) Angela Carini, the Italian boxer who walked out of her 2024 Paris Olympic fight against Team Algeria’s Imane Khelif after just 46 seconds, said that she wanted to apologize.
Angela went from refusing to shake Imane’s hand in the ring to stating how “sad” she felt over the intrusive gender misinformation around her opponent.
“All this controversy makes me sad,” the 25-year-old athlete told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, as per the BBC on Friday (August 2).
Angela continued: “I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”
Image credits: angela.carini_tiger
The IOC is the International Olympic Committee.
The Italian boxer further said that abandoning the fight had been a mature step to take, but she expressed regret at not shaking hands with Imane afterward.
“It wasn’t something I intended to do,” Angela said. “Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.”
The athlete reportedly added that if she met Imane again, she would “embrace her.”
Image credits: Eurosport
Imane complies with entry regulations set by various ruling entities, the Olympic committee clarified on Thursday (August 1).
The new elucidation follows the dangerous misinformation that has been circulating about the athlete amid Angela Carini abandoning facing Imane just 46 seconds into their fight.
“Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination,” the Olympic committee asserted in an official statement released on Thursday (August 1).
Image credits: Eurosport
Misinformation about Imane’s gender identity quickly spread and was consequently used on social media by notable transphobic figures, like J.K. Rowling, following the fight that took place on Thursday.
Attention was particularly given to the International Boxing Association (IBA)’s previous disqualification of Imane due to “elevated testosterone,”
Nevertheless, the IOC clarified that IBA’s decision was sudden and lacked proper procedure. Moreover, the IOC suspended the IBA in 2019 due to concerns about governance, corruption, and financial mismanagement.
Image credits: Eurosport
Image credits: DD_Geopolitics
Image credits: Eurosport
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