Elon Musk reacts to Italian boxer Angela Carini withdrawing from her fight with gender test-failed Imane Khelif at Paris Olympics

By Soumik Bhattacharya

Modified Aug 02, 2024 16:01 GMT

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The round-of-16 welterweight division boxing match between Angela Carini and Imane Kheif has been discussed in different media following the Italian's withdrawal from the first round, 46 seconds into the bout. Carini's opponent, Khelif, was one of the two boxers in the Paris Olympics 2024 who were allowed to compete at the Games despite allegedly failing gender tests last year at the World Boxing Championships (the second one being Taiwan's Lin Yu-Ting).

Khelif faced a controversial disqualification at the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships last year where she reportedly tested positive for a high level of testosterone.

However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed the Algerian boxer to compete at the quadrennial event. The IOC has a different set of regulatory policies as compared to that of the IBA (International Boxing Association).

Following this round of 16 bout, the subject of the presence of allegedly gender-test failed boxers in women's sports has come into the spotlight on social media. The former Tennessee State swimmer Riley Gaines was one of the first to speak on the events in Paris on her X (formerly Twitter) feed. She shared an image of Carini with the caption:

"Men don't belong in women's sports #IstandWithAngelaCarini"

Following this post by Gaines, the owner of X Corp Elon Musk also shared his opinion regarding this issue. He shared Gaines' tweet with the caption:

"Absolutely"

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Angela Carini opens up about withdrawing from her Round of 16 match

Angela Carini at the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Istanbul 2022 (Image via: Getty Images)

After an exit in the round of 16 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Angela Carini went to Paris hoping for a better outcome and to honor her father. However, things didn't go the Italian way as she had to pull out of the match due to the strong pain she faced in her nose after fighting 46 seconds against her opponent, Imane Khelif.

Following her withdrawal from the match, Carini opened up about her decision to not continue the match after the first few seconds of the first round. She said (via The Guardian):

I am heartbroken [...] I went to the ring to honor my father."

"I am in pieces because I am a fighter, they taught me to be a warrior. I have always tried to behave with honor. I have always represented my country with loyalty. This time I didn’t manage to because I couldn’t fight any more."

During the interview, Carini also stated that she was there to fight and win, regardless of the opponent or the row surrounding Khelif.