Caitlyn Jenner slams authorities for allowing Imane Khelif to compete at Paris Olympics- "Shame on IOC for not protecting safety of women's sports"

Modified Aug 02, 2024 23:18 GMT

Caitlyn Jenner, former Olympic gold medalist turned media personality, has slammed the IOC (International Olympic Committee) for letting Imane Khelif compete at the Paris Olympics 2024. The 74-year-old has termed the incident as a ‘safety issue’ for women's sports.

Khelif along with Lin Yu-ting were disqualified from the 2023 World Championships by the International Boxing Association, who claimed that the boxers had failed gender eligibility tests. The specific details and results of the tests were not released, with the organization claiming in their statement that they were ‘confidential’.

Both boxers were cleared to compete at the 2024 Olympics by IOC's Paris Boxing Unit. The IOC called the boxing association’s decision ‘arbitrary' and without any due process.

The controversy arose amid Imane Khelif's win over Angela Carini in the first round of boxing in the women's 66kg category at the Paris Olympics. Carini withdrew 46 seconds into the fight, and didn't shake hands with Khelif. She later apologized to the Algerian boxer.

Former Decathlon world record holder Caitlyn Jenner has now had her say on the matter, slamming the IOC for its decision to allow Khelif to compete. She claimed that it was a ‘shame’ for the organization for not being able to protect the safety and integrity of women’s sports.

"I think the Olympic Committee did absolutely the wrong thing by letting her compete. They should have stayed away from it. They have had enough of other issues with the opening ceremonies and everything. The IOC didn't just didn't do the job at the beginning and then the media built this whole thing up but shame on the IOC for not protecting the integrity of the women's sports and shame on the IOC for not protecting the safety of the women's sports. Obviously, this is a safety issue," she said on Fox News.

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Jenner identified as a male for 65 years of her life before coming out as a trans woman in 2016.

Angela Carini apologized to Imane Khelif for controversy surrounding fight

Boxing - Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 6 (Image Source: Getty)

Post-fight, Angela Carini had claimed that she had never been hit so hard in her career and didn't feel like she could continue the fight.

Carini also didn't shake Imane Khelif’s hands despite the latter approaching her. However, the Italian is now regretting her decision and has said that she would ‘embrace’ Khelif if they were to meet again.

"It wasn’t something I intended to do,” Carini said. “Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke,” she told Gazzetta dello Sport.

Angela Carini also added that she respected the IOC's decision and wanted to apologize to Imane Khelif.