Riley Gaines backed by Billionaire Elon Musk over BAN of boxer who failed gender test from Paris Olympics

Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer with gender eligibility problem, beat Angela Carini in a rather controversial manner.

Riley Gaines backed by Billionaire Elon Musk over BAN of boxer who failed gender test from Paris Olympics

Riley Gaines and Elon Musk speak out against trans participation, like Imane Khelif (Source: Instagram/IMAGO)

The Paris 2024 Olympics is ripe with glory, toil, effort, fame, and controversy as well. From the drone controversy to the opening ceremony to the Seine one, they are stretching out a tad bit more. One that has gained traction over the past few hours is Imane Khelif. Alleged trans boxer Khelif made Italy’s Angela Carini quit in under a minute. Popular anti-trans group proponent Riley Gaines took to X to slam the matter; now she has the backing of X head honcho Elon Musk as well.

Welterweight Khelif ( — 69kg) made the walk (Quarterfinals) at 5 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. ET. Full live streaming coverage comes at the courtesy of NBCOlympics.com. Right off the bat, the boxer teed off with a hard shot that connected to the face; Angela Carini sought out right after. Riley Marie Gaines, a University of Kentucky NCAA swim team alum, had already dissed the idea of this pairing before.

YouTube video
After 46 seconds and a few hits to the face by a male, Carini forfeited the fight...Call me crazy, but It's almost as if women don't want to be punched in the face by a male as the world watches and applauds...This is glorified male violence against women.
Riley Gaines via X (@Riley_Gaines_)

In a separate tweet, the 24-year-old called to arms to get Carini trending. Consequently, now, tech giant Elon Musk is backing her stance. Sharing a one-word reaction, “Absolutely,” he wrote.

FS Video
[separate tweet] Men don't belong in women's sports #IStandWithAngelaCarini...Let's get it trending.
Riley Gaines via X (@Riley_Gaines_)

Imane Khelif arguably has Differences Of Sexual Development (DSD), — meaning she dabbles in aspects of both genders. With The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) ad-hoc restrictions allowing for open interpretation of gender eligibility, the boxer had a leeway to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympics games. This isn’t the first time such a thing has happened.

Before Angela Carini, it was Brianda Tamara who had voiced similar concerns. Cruz even said she had never been hit harder, even while willingly parrying against men teammates. She even went online to post snippets of her bruised face. The matter has erupted out of proportion on the web as well. As such, there is no end in sight to this particular controversy.

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IBA, IOC issue statement after Italy’s Angela Carini abandons fight

Both the Games and combat sports sphere went up in a storm when Angela Carini threw in the gloves, fighting Algeria’s Imane Khelif, who failed gender eligibility tests before. Carini told her trainer, Emanuel Renzini, that her nose was in too much pain for her to continue. Renzini urged her to try to finish the first round so they could talk, but Carini raised her hand again. A flurry of jabs and one right at her face, and she was done.

Imane Khelif under closer scrutiny after Paris 2024 Olympics win against Angela Carini
Imane Khelif under closer scrutiny after Paris 2024 Olympics win against Angela Carini (Source: mynbc15.com/X)

Notables like Riley Gaines or Elon Musk weren’t the only ones to pitch in against it. 46 seconds is all it took to stir the pot again. After the DQ last year, the IOC has since stripped the IBA of its status as the global governing body. IOC’s Paris 2024 Boxing unit is more relaxed in the set. When asked about Khelif on Tuesday, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams had some strong notions.

I would just say that everyone competing in the women's category is complying with the competition eligibility rules. They are women in their passports...These athletes competed many times before for many years,...they didn't just suddenly arrive.
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams via an Official press release durign the Games; H/T: sports.yahoo.com

The DQ was the result of two tests. The first was during the 2022 IBA World Boxing Championships in Istanbul, and the second was during the 2023 World Championships thereafter. But, Khelif’s thoroughly dominant performance on Thursday will only fuel the debate over whether she and Taipei’s Lin Yu-ting should compete at the Paris Olympics 2024.

The Algerian Olympic Committee issued a statement strongly condemning the “unethical targeting and slander” by foreign media. Boxing has been her passion since 10. But, the widely circulated snippet of her raw power differential against Tamara only made things worse.

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