Double Olympic gold medallist Nicola Adams has given her support to Angela Carini after the Italian boxer abandoned a fight against an opponent who previously failed a gender eligibility test.
Adams, 41, posted her views on X on Friday after Carini withdrew from her fight against Algeria’s Imane Khelif, who is a biological woman, just 46 seconds into the bout on Thursday.
Carini claimed she had “never felt a punch like this”, and that she was unable to continue the 66kg match at the Paris games due to the pain Khelif had inflicted on her nose.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif (right) next to Italy’s Angela Carini. Pic: AP
Adams, who won gold for Team GB at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, said that “people not born as biological women, that have been through male puberty, should not be able to compete in women’s sport”.
She described it as “unfair and dangerous”, expressing her regret that “another fighter [has been] forced to give up on her Olympic dreams”.
UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky News sport correspondent Rob Harris that Thursday’s match was “uncomfortable to watch”.
“I know there are a lot of women competitors who are concerned, not just about whether we’re getting the balance right between inclusion, fairness, and safety,” she said.
“These are often complex biological issues and [it’s] up to government to offer guidance on these issues.”
Khelif was born female but failed one of the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) gender eligibility requirements and was unable to compete in the world championships last year.
Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting, who is competing in Paris on Friday, was also disqualified for the same reason.
The IBA has not given specifics regarding Khelif and Lin’s disqualification but said on Thursday the decision to disqualify had been based on “two trustworthy tests” at World Championships in Istanbul in 2022 and New Delhi in 2023.
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped the IBA of its status as the sport’s world governing body in 2023 over governance and finance issues.
The IOC is running the boxing competition in Paris and has said its position – that the athletes’ genders are based on their passports – is binding.
It said “misleading information” had been reported about Khelif and Lin, and pointed out they had been competing in international boxing events for many years, including the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
The IOC described the IBA’s decision to disqualify the two women last year as “sudden” and “arbitrary”, having been made “without due process”.
Khelif v Carini. Pic: AP
IOC spokesman Mark Adams attempted to shut down any uncertainty by insisting: “They are women in their passports and it’s stated that this is the case, that they are female.”
Former tennis player Martina Navratilova replied to Adams’s post, saying: “Thank you for speaking up for fairness! And safety, especially in contact sports, boxing most of all.”
Former Team GB boxer Audley Harrison said the situation was “complicated” and “not as simple as saying she’s female and that’s it”.
Khelif is next due to fight against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori on Saturday.