As for Olympic gold

Task against Khelif: 10,000 dollars for that

Carini's tears after the fight against Khelif (in red) will now be handsomely rewarded.

(Bild: AP)

It remains bizarre: as a "reward" for giving up against the "male" boxer Imane Khelif, the Italian Angela Carini now receives 100,000 dollars from the International Boxing Association (IBA). Just as much as if she had won Olympic gold.

"I couldn't see her tears," says IBA President Umar Kremlev. The world boxing association he represents is itself excluded from the IOC due to various scandals in the past, meaning it is not responsible for the organization of the Olympic boxing competitions.

If it had been, the Algerian Imane Khelif would almost certainly not have been at the start. Excessively high testosterone levels and a proven Y chromosome had already resulted in her being banned from the World Championships - organized by the IBA - a year ago. If it were up to Kremlev, she would also be banned from the Olympics. "I don't understand why they (the IOC officials) are killing women's boxing. Only suitable female athletes should compete in the ring for the sake of safety."

IBA President Umar Kremlev

(Bild: AFP/APA/Sajjad HUSSAIN)

"Never felt such a blow"
Because the IOC sees things differently, Khelif - who is obviously naturally favored physically - did indeed compete in her first fight on Thursday. Her opponent, the Italian Carini, gave up after less than a minute. She was too afraid that she might suffer damage to her health. She explained after the fight that she felt a lot of pain after the first few punches. And: "I've never felt a punch like that before," she said, alluding to Khelif's power.

"Protect every female boxer"
Carini finally left the ring in tears. And she is now being compensated for that. "I can assure you that we will protect every female boxer," says IBA boss Kremlev. In this case, even financially. The International Boxing Association is "donating" Carini the small sum of 100,000 dollars, around 92,000 euros. That is exactly as much as the (yet to be determined) Olympic champion will collect from the IOC for her gold medal. 50,000 dollars of this will go directly to Carini, the rest to the coaching team and the national federation.

You could say that the task has paid off.