A genetically male boxer (XY chromosomes, male-typical levels of testosterone, but not anatomically male) competing as a woman in the Olympics despite failing a gender test won today against an Italian woman, who conceded in just 46 seconds as she cried out “this is unjust“. The Mail has more.
The fight took 46 seconds and [the victor’s] Italian opponent threw her helmet onto the floor as the fight was abandoned.
She refused the handshake, fell to the canvas sobbing as the emotional Italian broke down in tears after just two punches.
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, 25, fought Italy’s Angela Carini, 25 despite being banned from a major boxing contest before the Olympics.
After the match was stopped, the referee raised Khelif’s hand in the air. But a visibly furious Carini yanked her hand away from the fight official before exiting the ring without shaking her opponent’s hand.
Ignoring the Algerian, the Italian fighter then dropped to her knees and burst into tears as she said she had never felt such strong blows in a contest before.
Speaking after the match, the heartbroken Italian said: “I have always honoured my country with loyalty. This time I didn’t succeed because I couldn’t fight anymore. So I put an end to the match.'”
She said she did not walk away from the fight as a protest against her opponent’s inclusion, but that was a decision for the Olympics to consider.
She was taken away for medical assessment to examine the seriousness of her facial injuries which included a bruised nose.
Carini’s coach in the mix zone after the fight later said: “I don’t know if her nose is broken. I have to speak with the girl. But many people in Italy tried to call and tell her: ‘Don’t go please: it’s a man, it’s dangerous for you.'”
Worth reading in full.
Sharron Davies, Liz Truss and J.K. Rowling have waded into the controversy:
GB swimming hero Davies has now lashed out at the International Olympics Committee (IOC) for allowing the fight, raging: “This is shocking. The IOC are a bloody disgrace. In effect legalising beating up females. This must stop!!! What the hell’s the matter with them?”
She was joined by former Prime Minister Liz Truss, who wrote on X: “When will this madness stop? Men cannot become women. Why is the British Government not objecting to this?”
While Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling branded the contest “insanity”. In a post yesterday, the gender-critical author wrote: “What will it take to end this insanity? A female boxer left with life-altering injuries? A female boxer killed?”
Posting a video of the fight today, Rowling added: “Watch this (whole thread), then explain why you’re OK with a man beating a woman in public for your entertainment. This isn’t sport. From the bullying cheat in red all the way up to the organisers who allowed this to happen, this is men revelling in their power over women.”
In the Spectator, Debbie Hayton says “the International Olympic Committee (IOC) needs to find some far better answers to the transgender question if it is to restore its credibility in eyes of those who care about women’s sport”.
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