Angela Carini has spoken out in an emotional press conference following her Olympic defeat to Imane Khelif at Paris 2024.
The Italian removed herself from the situation after 46 seconds after being drawn against Khelif, who was previously suspended from competition for being ‘intersex,’ according to a spokesperson.
Carini took powerful blows before deciding she could not continue. There’s since been a massive uproar over her seemingly being forced to participate in the contest or lose the fight.
Ultimately, she chose to walk out, leaving her dream of a medal at 66 kilograms in tatters. Speaking to reporters, Carini opened up on what it felt like to face Khelif.
“I have never been hit so hard in my life. It’s up to the IOC to judge [what the next step is],” said Carini.
There are calls for Carini to be reinstated and Khelif disqualified over the match-up after the IBA [formerly AIBA] revealed they banned Khelif for failing significant tests in 2023. The reasoning was to uphold fair competition, which they reiterated on the eve of the contest.
Those warnings were not heeded, and Carini was subsequently thrust into a situation where she didn’t feel safe.
Speaking to The Telegraph’s Oliver Brown in the aftermath, it was clear a highly-charged Carini was heartbroken.
A sickening spectacle, and the most vivid testament to the IOC’s institutional failure. Angela Carini said she was hit so hard she “couldn’t breathe any more”. My latest from North Paris Arena https://t.co/SuaIqC1yQ6
— Oliver Brown (@oliverbrown_tel) August 1, 2024
“I have always honored my country with loyalty,” she told Brown. “But I didn’t succeed this time because I couldn’t fight anymore.
“I put an end to the match because after the second blow, after years of experience in the ring and a life of fighting, I felt a strong pain in my nose. Then I said, ‘That’s enough’ because… I could not bring the match to an end. So I thought, maybe it’s better to put an end to the match.”
Paris 2024 has come under fire because of a desire to be inclusive from the outset. However, allowing a practice that most viewers were sickened by is undoubtedly not the way to reach that goal.
It’s not the first time this has happened, either.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
