Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, whose name vaulted into the top of Google searches last week after a 46-second bout reraised gender test issues, stayed atop global headlines as she dominated two more matches to advance to the final.
Khelif hasn't seen a point scored against her yet in these Paris Games.
She'll face China's Yang Liu in the women's welterweight gold medal match at 4:51 p.m. ET Friday. You'll be able to watch that here. Liu, 32 won a gold medal at the 2023 World Championships. Get more on Olympic boxing.
Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 world championships after failing an unspecified gender eligibility test, and her presence at the Paris Olympics has become a divisive issue. There's no indication she identifies as transgender.
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So what happened with Angela Carini?
Opponent Angela Carini of Italy quit after just 46 seconds in Thursday's bout.
Carini and Khelif had only a few punch exchanges before Carini abandoned it, an extremely unusual occurrence in Olympic boxing. Carini’s headgear apparently became dislodged twice before she quit.
Carini refused to shake Khelif's hand after the decision was announced, and she cried in the ring before leaving.
Afterward, a still-tearful Carini said she quit because of intense pain in her nose after the opening punches. Carini, who had a spot of blood on her trunks, said she wasn't making a political statement and was not refusing to fight Khelif.
“I felt a severe pain in my nose, and with the maturity of a boxer, I said ‘enough,’ because I didn’t want to, I didn’t want to, I couldn’t finish the match," Carini said.
Khelif is an accomplished amateur who won a silver medal at the International Boxing Association's 2022 world championships. The same governing body disqualified her from last year's championships shortly before her gold-medal match because of what it claimed were elevated levels of testosterone.
The 25-year-old entered the ring at the North Paris Arena to a chorus of cheers, but the crowd was confused by the bout's sudden end.
