NI Commonwealth Games gold medallist Amy Broadhurst has defended an Algerian competitor at the centre of a row that sparked huge controversy at the Paris Olympics.
Imane Khelif’s bout with Angela Carini was abandoned on Thursday after just 46 seconds.
The build-up to the fight was marred by controversy following the inclusion of Khelif, who had been disqualified from last year’s IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi for failing to meet the necessary gender eligibility criteria.
Italian athlete Carini abandoned the Paris bout, saying: “I had to preserve my life.”
International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson Mark Adams has since said that the two boxers fighting at the Olympics after being disqualified from last year’s world championships — Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting — “comply with the eligibility rules”, adding that they are “real people” who have been competing “for many years”.
Several DUP politicians were among those weighing in on the controversy. The TUV also said the incident “cast a shadow over the Games when a biological man left a female boxer crying in the ring”.
But Broadhurst said Khelif, whom Broadhurst previously fought and beat in the final of the 2022 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, “hasn’t done anything to cheat”, adding that “it’s the way she was born and that’s out of her control”.
Ms Broadhurst, who won gold for Northern Ireland in the lightweight division at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, posted on X: “Have a lot of people texting me over Imane Khelif. Personally I don’t think she has done anything to ‘cheat’. I thinks it’s the way she was born & that’s out of her control. The fact that she has been beaten by 9 females before says it all.”
“This is not a transgender issue,” the IOC’s Mark Adams told the BBC.
“What I’d repeat is all the competitors comply with the competition eligibility rules and that’s as it should be.
“That’s how these boxers concerned have taken part in these Games, have taken part in previous world championships, have taken part in previous Olympic Games, have taken part in regional and continental competitions.
“They comply with the eligibility rules and I think that’s as it should be and how it can be.”
Carla Lockhart was among a host of politicians to condemn the IOC’s decision to include Khelif — who was also beaten by Irish boxer Kellie Harrington at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo — in the Games, with JK Rowling and even Donald Trump among the critics.
“It is outrageous to see this female athlete, who has trained her whole life to get an opportunity at the pinnacle of the sport, hit so hard by a biological male that it ended her medal dreams,” the Upper Bann representative posted on X.
“Shame on the IOC who went against the guidelines of the world boxing federations.”
Ms Lockhart shared a separate post by another user which stated: “Men don’t belong in women’s sports #IStandWithAngelaCarini.”
Strangford MP Jim Shannon has also expressed concern, saying: “How in the name of sanity is this supported by the IOC?”
Algeria’s Imane Khelif (red) next to Italy’s Angela Carini at the end of their women’s boxing match (John Locher/AP)
A spokesperson for TransActual said: “To the best of my knowledge, Imane Khelif is a cis woman.”
However, Jane Fae, a writer and campaigner on political and sexual liberty, said that even were evidence to the contrary provided, there is “not an issue” if she “conformed to Olympic entry standards as a woman”.
“Khelif has competed in women’s boxing matches for years with wins and losses under her belt,” they added.
The UN’s special rapporteur on violence against women and girls (VAWG) has condemned the IOC decision.
Reem Alsalem said Carini “rightly followed her instincts and prioritised her physical safety, but she and other female athletes should not have been exposed to this physical and psychological violence based on their sex”.
Italy’s Angela Carini pictured in floods of tears after the match (John Locher/AP/PA)
The author of the Harry Potter series, who has become known as a fierce advocate for the rights of biological women, labelled the IOC safeguarding “a joke”.
Reposting a video of the fight on X, JK Rowling said: “Watch this (whole thread), then explain why you’re OK with a man beating a woman in public for your entertainment.”
She said it was an example of “men revelling in their power over women”.
Responding to a video put out by the IOC about its safeguarding of athletes, the writer added: “A young female boxer has just had everything she’s worked and trained for snatched away because you allowed a male to get in the ring with her.
“You’re a disgrace, your ‘safeguarding’ is a joke and #Paris24 will be forever tarnished by the brutal injustice done to Carini.”
Carini was pictured in floods of tears after the match and said she was unable to continue for her health, adding: “I have never felt a punch like this.”
Former sports stars have also aired criticism, including tennis great Martina Navratilova and former GB swimmer Sharron Davies.
Lin Yu-ting, who also had questions raised about her eligibility for the Games, faces Sitora Turdibekova in the women’s 57kg category today.