The IBA have released a statement claiming they will award the Italian fighter prize money for winning the Olympics despite losing to Imane Khelif in their controversial bout.
They wrote:
‘International Boxing Association (IBA) will award Angela Carini, who abandoned the fight against Algeria’s Imane Khelif at Paris 2024 Games after 46 seconds of the first round, the IBA prize money as if she were an Olympic champion, President Umar Kremlev claimed.
Carini refused to continue the fight against Khelif from the last 16 in Paris, as she mentioned that she wasn’t able to continue.
‘I couldn’t look at her tears,’ President Kremlev said. ‘I am not indifferent to such situations, and I can assure that we will protect each boxer. I do not understand why they kill women’s boxing. Only eligible athletes should compete in the ring for the sake of safety.’
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Kremlev also said that IBA will support Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan. Today Turdibekova unanimously lost to Lin Yu-ting from Chinese Taipei, who was also deemed ineligible by the IBA back in 2023.
In May, the IBA leadership took a bold decision to award all Olympic champions and medallists of Paris 2024 allotted prize money. The unprecedented move in the history of the sport is aimed at supporting the athletes, coaches, and National Federations, as well as underpining IBA’s commitment to delivering the best support for its athletes, based on their hard work and dedication to the sport of boxing.
As stated, all Paris gold medallists in the boxing tournament will receive a substantial financial reward of $100,000. Out of this amount, the athlete will receive $50,000, their National Federation will receive $25,000, and their coach will receive $25,000. For a silver medal, $50,000 prize money will be awarded, with the athlete receiving $25,000, and the remaining $25,000 being distributed evenly between the coach and the National Federation. For a bronze medal, we will provide $25,000, of which $12,500 will go to the athlete, and $12,500 will again be distributed evenly. Additionally, athletes who lost in the quarterfinals and finished 5th, will each receive $10,000 from IBA, making the total prize money fund commitment equalling more than $3.1 million USD distributed to over 100 boxers.
The International Olympic Committee have been at loggerheads with the IBA in recent times and released their own statement yesterday slamming the organisation
‘We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.
These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process.’
