Italian boxer Angela Carini has broken her silence about the aftermath of her controversial Olympic bout, revealing how relentless online harassment has left her career in ruins following her tearful withdrawal from a match against Algeria’s Imane Khelif at the Paris Olympics.
The 26-year-old athlete abandoned her opening bout after just 46 seconds, citing the intensity of her opponent’s punches as the reason for her unprecedented decision to quit mid-match. What followed was a torrent of abuse that Carini says has fundamentally altered the trajectory of her professional boxing career.
In an Instagram video published on Friday, Carini shared screenshots of the brutal messages she has endured, accompanied by her own emotional commentary about the toll this scrutiny has taken on her life.
“Have you ever wondered how hard it was for me to face these words? What I had to endure and endure day after day? What I had to face in my silence, while preserving my health from a stupid social network, from people who speak and say words without thinking twice?” Carini said in the video.
The messages she revealed paint a disturbing picture of the harassment she has faced. Some urged her never to return to Olympic competition, while others branded her “a coward” and “the shame of the Italy team.”
The boxer’s decision to quit became a lightning rod for international debate about gender eligibility in sports, drawing commentary from high-profile figures including then-former President Donald Trump and Italian politician Giorgia Meloni.
Khelif went on to win Olympic gold amid intense international scrutiny surrounding both her and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, another gold medalist who faced similar questions about eligibility. The controversy stemmed from the athletes’ disqualification from the 2023 world championships by the Russian-dominated International Boxing Association, which claimed they failed unspecified eligibility tests. However, the International Olympic Committee allowed both boxers to compete, applying the same sex eligibility rules used in previous Olympics.
For Carini, the personal cost of being at the center of this global debate has been immense. She described the lasting impact with raw honesty: “Because for them it’s just a sentence, it’s just a word, it’s just fun, it’s just wanting to follow the crowd.”
The boxer, who previously won silver medals at both the world and European championships in 2019, spoke about how the experience has left permanent scars. “For many it is easy to forget the past, but for me it wasn’t,” she continued. “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.”
Carini also described how years of dedication to her sport have been undermined by the controversy. “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 belittled by those who preferred to have a laugh for a few moments, preferred to throw the stone.”
Following the Olympic controversy, Carini retreated from public view, seeking refuge with her family as she attempted to process the experience. “After Paris, Carini said she closed herself ‘in silence’ with her family and ‘tried to rebuild (herself) in small pieces,'” according to her account of those difficult months.
Despite the emotional turmoil, the determined athlete has shown remarkable resilience. She returned to competition in December, where she claimed her eighth Italian title and secured gold at the World Boxing Cup in Poland.
“Putting all the disappointment aside, I got back into that ring, reconfirming myself as Italian champion and bringing home medals from important international tournaments,” Carini said, acknowledging the mental strength required to compete again. “Getting back into that ring was a tough challenge.”
While she has achieved success since Paris, the shadow of that 46-second bout continues to follow her career.
In closing her emotional video message, Carini offered a plea for greater empathy and reflection about the impact of online behavior. “These words of mine will not change the world, I will not make people become kinder. But at least I invite everyone to reflect… A word, a gesture, a command can hurt and destroy a person.”
