Angela Carini denounces social media abuse after her Olympic fight
Italian boxer Angela Carini has expressed her frustration at the online harassment she has suffered after her match against Imane Khelif at last year’s Olympic Games, an event that, according to her, “destroyed her career”. Carini retired from his initial fight with Khelif at the Paris Games after 46 seconds, later explaining that he did so due to the pain caused by his Algerian opponent’s blows. On Thursday, Carini shared a video on Instagram with screenshots of abusive messages she has received on social media, along with a voice recording where the 26-year-old athlete explains her feelings.The video posted by Angela Carini
Khelif finally won the Olympic gold medal, amidst international scrutiny over her participation and that of Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan, another gold medalist. The previous governing body of Olympic boxing, the Russian-dominated International Boxing Association, had disqualified both boxers from their 2023 world championships after alleging that they failed unspecified eligibility tests. However, the IBA was banished amid distrust and controversy. The IOC ran the last two Olympic boxing tournaments instead and applied the sexual eligibility rules used in previous Olympic Games. According to those standards, Khelif and Lin were eligible to compete. Carini’s decision to abandon the fight sparked a debate that went beyond Paris about whether Khelif should have been allowed to compete, with statements from figures such as Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.“Have you ever wondered how difficult it was for me to face these words? What did I have to endure day after day? What did I have to face in my silence, while protecting my health from a stupid social network, from people who speak and say words without thinking twice?” said Carini. “Because for them it’s just a phrase, it’s just a word, it’s just fun, it’s just wanting to follow the crowd.”
Angela Carini
“That past that changed and destroyed my career, built year after year with sacrifices, dedication, tenacity, and a lot of passion. … That career that is underestimated and despised by those who preferred to laugh for a few moments, preferred to cast the first stone.” Carini won silver medals in both the world and European championships in 2019. He lost his first bout at the Tokyo Olympics. After Paris, Carini stated that he shut himself “in silence” with his family and “tried to rebuild himself in small pieces.” Carini returned to the ring in December, winning his eighth Italian title and gold at the Boxing World Cup in Poland. “Putting aside all the disappointment, I returned to that ring, reconfirming myself as the Italian champion and bringing home medals from important international tournaments,” said Carini. “Returning to that ring was a difficult challenge.” “These words of mine will not change the world. I will not make people kinder. But at least I invite everyone to reflect. … A word, a gesture, a command can hurt and destroy a person.”“For many it’s easy to forget the past, but for me it wasn’t,” Carini said in her video. “That past that marked my life. That past that left wounds inside me that I try to heal day after day, but like an infected wound, it bleeds and hurts.”
Angela Carini
