Few moments at the 2024 Paris Olympics generated as much global debate as the 46 seconds Angela Carini spent in the ring with Imane Khelif.
The Italian boxer’s decision to withdraw from their opening bout, tearfully explaining that the pain from her opponent’s punches had been too much to continue, ignited a firestorm that stretched further than just the Paris Olympics.
Politicians, pundits, and public figures across the world weighed in, including Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and overnight, Carini found herself at the centre of one of the most opinion-splitting sporting controversies at the time.
Imane Khelif’s Controversy
For context, Khelif had previously been disqualified from the 2023 World Championships by the International Boxing Association, which claimed she had failed unspecified eligibility tests. The IBA, however, had itself been banished from Olympic oversight amid widespread allegations of corruption and ties to the Russian government. This led to the IOC running the Olympic boxing tournament in its place, applying their own set of eligibility rules, under which both Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting were deemed eligible to compete.
Khelif went on to claim Olympic gold, but that was just the start of all the drama. She subsequently filed a legal complaint for aggravated online harassment, while the IBA launched its own counteraction against the IOC over her participation.
In her most extensive interview since Paris, given earlier this year, Khelif confirmed she naturally possesses the SRY gene and has naturally high testosterone levels monitored by a doctor. She was unequivocal in her position: “I was born a girl, raised as a girl, and have lived my entire life as one.” But what’s clear to see, is that the debate hasn’t fully gone away.
What’s Happened to Angela Carini Since Paris Olympics
What’s received far less attention is what that debate has done to Carini. Now 27, she has spoken publicly about the abuse she has faced since Paris, posting a video on Instagram featuring screenshots of the messages directed at her.
The content was deeply unpleasant. Some called her a coward. Others branded her the shame of the Italian team. Some even urged her not to return to the Olympics. All of it landing in her inbox day after day.
“Have you ever wondered how hard it was for me to face these words?” she said in the video. “What I had to endure day after day? What I had to face in my silence, while preserving my health from a stupid social network, from people who speak and say words without thinking twice?”
She described the experience as something that had destroyed the career she’d built through years of sacrifice, dedication, and passion.
After Paris, she retreated from public life, closing herself away with her family and attempting to piece herself back together. It was, by her own account, a significant personal struggle.
But she did come back.
In December, Carini returned to the ring and claimed her eighth Italian title, before going on to win gold at the World Boxing Cup in Poland. The competitive record suggests someone who has refused to let the noise define her, even if the wounds, as she describes them, are still healing.
Carini’s message was not one of anger or accusation. It was a plea for basic human decency.
“These words of mine will not change the world. I will not make people become kinder. But at least I invite everyone to reflect. A word, a gesture, a command can hurt and destroy a person.”