Carini-Khelif, Bach (Cio) meets Giorgia Meloni and closes the case. “Khelif is a woman, we will clarify”
“It was a positive meeting, we also talked about the Carini case. We agreed to stay in touch to ‘welcome’ the same scientific background and make the situation more understandable because she (the hyperandrogynous Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, ed.) is a woman and has competed for six years at an international level”, the words to Ansa by the IOC President Thomas Bach at the end of the meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Paris (where various topics were discussed, from the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina to international politics). “We share points of view and we agree on clarifying and improving the scientific background we discussed,” he added.
Paris 2024 Olympics, Meloni-Bach (IOC), Khelif case and fairness rules also at the center
“The Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, met in Paris the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach. At the center of the meeting was an exchange of views on the progress of the Games and the state of preparation for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics”, explains a note from Palazzo Chigi. “During the face-to-face meeting, the case of the athlete Imane Khelif and the issue of rules to ensure fairness in sports competitions were also addressed. President Meloni and IOC number one Bach have agreed that the Government and the International Olympic Committee will remain in contact to evaluate how to address the issue for the future”, concludes the note
Paris 2024 Olympics: IOC closes case of boxer Khelif
The International Olympic Committee has taken a position following the case involving the boxing match between Italian boxer Angela Carini and Algerian Imane Khelif.
“Everyone has the right to practice sports without discrimination.. All athletes participating in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games boxing tournament comply with the competition eligibility and registration regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations established by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU). As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of athletes are based on their passports. These rules were also applied during the qualification period, including the boxing tournaments of the 2023 European Games, the Asian Games, the Pan American Games and the Pacific Games, the 2023 ad hoc African Qualifying Tournament in Dakar (SEN) and two World Qualifying Tournaments held in Busto Arsizio (ITA) and Bangkok (THA) in 2024, involving a total of 1,471 different boxers from 172 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the Refugee Boxing Team and individual neutral athletes, and seeing over 2,000 qualifying bouts”the IOC explains in a note, once again defending the decision to allow Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting to participate in the Games.
“The PBU used the Tokyo 2020 Boxing Rules as a basis for developing its regulations for Paris 2024. This is to minimize the impact on athlete preparation and ensure consistency across Olympic Games. These Tokyo 2020 rules were based on the post-Rio 2016 rules, which were in place before the IOC suspended the International Boxing Federation in 2019 and subsequently withdrew its recognition in 2023. We have seen misleading information in reports about two female athletes competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions in the women’s category for many years, including the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments. These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the 2023 IBA World Championships, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process,” the IOC added.
“According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken only by the Secretary General and the Chief Executive Officer of the IBA. The IBA Board of Directors ratified it only later and only later requested that a procedure to be followed in similar cases in the future be established and reflected in the IBA Regulations. The minutes also state that the IBA should “establish a clear procedure on gender testing”. The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, taken without any proper procedure, especially considering that these athletes have been competing at high levels for many years. Such an approach is contrary to good governance.. Eligibility rules must not be changed during the ongoing competition and any rule changes must follow appropriate procedures and be based on scientific evidence,” he continued. the IOC which “is committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes participating in the Olympic Games, as per the Olympic Charter, the IOC Code of Ethics and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights. The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently suffering.”
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