Tesla CEO Elon Musk has supported Italian boxer Angela Carini after she lost to Algerian fighter Iman Khalif at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Thursday. The bout lasted just 46 seconds as Carini had to retire from the bout after being hit multiple times in the face. After the loss, the Italian boxer went down on her knees and cried in the middle of the ring. She did not shake hands with Khalif, who made it to the quarter-finals of the category, after the match.
Musk retweeted an ex’s post from American swimmer Riley Gaines, which read, “Men have no place in women’s sports #IStandWithAngelaCarini.”
“Absolutely,” Musk wrote, retweeting Gaines’ initial message.
Absolutely
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 1, 2024
In another post, Musk challenged Kamala Harris to comment on the controversy. An X user wrote, “Kamala Harris supports this… vote accordingly,” to which Musk replied, “True or let her deny it.”
is it true or let him deny it
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 1, 2024
Italian Prime Minister Giordano Meloni also reacted to Angela Carini’s defeat, saying it was “not an equal contest”.
“My nose was hurting a lot and I said, ‘Stop.’ It’s better not to move. My nose started bleeding from the first hit,” Carini said.
Khalifa was allowed to compete at the Olympics despite being disqualified from the 2023 Women’s World Championships after she reportedly failed gender eligibility tests.
The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to allow Khalif to compete has been criticised by former women’s boxing champions including Claressa Shields and Ebanie Bridges.
The IOC allowed two boxers to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics despite failing gender eligibility tests for the World Boxing Championships last year.
In 2023, the Algerian boxer was disqualified hours before her gold medal match at the Women’s World Championships. Khalif was reportedly disqualified due to high levels of testosterone in her body.
