Olympics must realise safety is more important than gender politics

Algeria's Imane Khelif, in red, punches Italy's Angela Carini in the women's 66kg boxing event at the Paris Olympics on Thursday (Picture: Mohd Rasfan/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images

Every Olympic Games comes with controversy. From doping scandals to international tensions, every four years, a row is guaranteed about something. My favourite is the 1936 imbroglio which saw Lithuania not invited to the Berlin Olympics over the Memelland Klaipeda controversy, a dispute over territory so lost in time it simply does not require repeating here. 

So trouble in Paris was always going to happen, especially in an age of social media where every single thing is an OMG moment. That said, this Olympics does seem to be delivering a fair bit of rumpus. It all started with the rain-soaked opening ceremony which featured a pot pourri of inclusivity in a setting religious groups claimed offended them because it seemed to mock the Last Supper. Organisers said they had not set out to show disrespect and instead wanted to celebrate tolerance.

By the time that row had died down, all the rain had washed into the River Seine where experts declared the water was now not fit to host the triathlon’s swimming stage. After it did go ahead, one competitor vomited five times and another said they had seen and felt things they didn’t want to contemplate. The mind boggles. 

But the most serious scandal of the games so far has been in the boxing ring. Italy’s Angela Carini fell to her knees and quit after just 46 seconds when she was hit twice in the face by an Algerian opponent. In tears, Carini said she had never experienced a punch like that before and refused to shake hands with her opponent, who was disqualified from the women’s world championships last year for failing gender eligibility tests.

Storm of protest

That decision was set aside by the International Olympic Committee which is organising the boxing competition in Paris and insists the Algerian, Imane Khelif, and another boxer meet all eligibility criteria. However the IOC is facing a storm over protest. Former world champion boxer Barry McGuigan is among those questioning the situation. “It’s shocking that they were actually allowed to get this far, what is going on?” he wrote on X/Twitter.

Every sport is dealing with gender at the moment and it is highly contentious and sensitive subject but one consideration trumps all others. Angela Carini left the ring fearing she had a broken nose and blood on her vest, saying she had stopped for the good of her own health before more damage was done.

Fair and transparent

Her decision was backed by the United Nation’s special rapporteur on violence against women and girls. Reem Alsalem posted on social media: “Angela Carini rightly followed her instincts and prioritised her well-being, but she and other female athletes should not have been exposed to this physical and psychological violence based on their sex.” Perhaps it’s time for the United Nations to have a word with the Olympic Games. 

Sport should be a place for all, an inclusive space where everyone can compete and succeed purely on their ability. But that competition has to take place in a fair and transparent way and one thing should always take priority over all other considerations and that is the safety of women. No politics, medals or controversies can ever take precedence over that.