Olympic boxer who walked out of fight after 46 seconds wants to apologize to rival who failed gender eligibility test
Emily Brown
Featured Image Credit: Fabio Bozzani/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Olympic boxer who walked out of her Paris 2024 fight after just 46 seconds has said she wants to apologize to her opponent.
Italian boxer Angela Carini spoke out after she faced Algeria's Imane Khelif at the Olympics yesterday (1 August).
The fight was only just getting started, with only a few punches thrown when Carini abandoned the welterweight 16 round bout altogether.
Carini refused to shake Khelif's hand and appeared to get emotional in the ring before she left, later explaining she 'didn't succeed' because she simply 'couldn't fight anymore'.
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She told reporters she had never been punched so hard in her career before her fight against Khelif.
Her walkout at the Olympics came after Khelif was disqualified from the boxing world championships in 2023 after she failed a gender eligibility test due to what the International Boxing Association claimed were elevated levels of testosterone.
According to a Reuters report, she failed due to IBA eligibility rules preventing athletes with XY chromosomes from competing in women’s events.
However, the International Olympic Committee has assured Khelif is eligible to take part in the Olympics. The boxer has always competed in the women's division for her sport and is recognized by the IOC as a female athlete.
"Everyone competing in the women's category is complying with the competition eligibility rules," IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said.
"They are women in their passports, and it's stated that this is the case that they are female," he added.
The IOC has added that the rules of eligibility for Paris 2024 are based on those used in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
In the wake of the fight, Carini told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport the 'controversy' around the bout made her 'sad'.
"I'm sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision," she said.
Carini expressed belief that abandoning the fight was the right and mature step for her to take, but she did share her regret at her decision not to shake hands with Khelif.
"It wasn't something I intended to do," Carini continued. "Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke."
If she meets Khelif again, Carini said she would 'embrace her'.
In an interview with BBC Sport, Carini added: "It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment."