„A truly un-Olympic spectacle: shame on those officials who allowed such an uneven competition,” Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said. Wrote in X.
The IOC, however, defended its decision to allow Calif to compete in the Olympics, saying Calif was „not a transgender case”, Carini told the media on August 2 after the competition.
„Somehow, there’s some confusion about whether it’s a man fighting a woman. It’s not just scientifically. There’s a consensus: scientifically, it’s not a man fighting a woman,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said.
„I’m a girl like any other girl” Calif said Friday after winning his first Olympic gold medal.
“I was born and lived as a woman [as] A woman, I competed as a woman, no doubt about it. Success has its enemies, that’s what I call them. Because of these attacks it gives a special flavor to my success.
Victor Khoury-Lafont contributed reporting.