The farce engulfing the Paris Olympics after a female boxer lost in 46 seconds to a ‘biological male’ was anticipated nearly five years ago by the comedy sitcom South Park, fans have pointed out.
The demolition of Italy’s Angela Carini by Algeria’s Imane Khelif has sparked fury after it emerged that Khelif was previously banned from competition for ‘having male sex chromosomes.’
In a 2019 episode called ‘Go Strong Woman, Go,’ a transgender athlete named ‘Heather Swanson’ batters her female opponent around the ring leaving her bloodied and bruised before topping the podium with the trophy.
‘I can’t tell you how free I feel now that I’ve started identifying as a woman,’ she tells an interviewer, adjusting her shades. ‘Now that I can compete as a female, I’m ready to smash the other girls!’
The 2019 South Park episode ‘Go Strong Woman, Go’ featured a muscled and bearded transgender athlete who pummels a female opponent around a boxing ring
Italian Angela Carini lasted just 46 seconds in her Olympic bout against Algeria’s Imane Khelif who has previously been banned from women’s boxing for having male chromosomes
Carin, 25, threw her helmet onto the floor and sobbed as the clash was abandoned, yelling ‘this is unjust’ after just two devastating punches from her Algerian opponent in Thursday’s bout.
‘I’m used to suffering,’ she said afterward. ‘I’ve never taken a punch like that, it’s impossible to continue.’
The South Park episode begins with a merciless parody of biological women who welcome transgender competitors.
‘Amazing. I feel honored to be a part of history,’ the reigning Strongwoman champion says when asked about the competition’s first transgender competitor.
‘I have lot of incredible trans friends who are athletes and so we are all inspired that this woman’s competing,’ she continues before the bearded and heavily muscled Swanson steps into frame wearing a ten-gallon hat.
Challenged over claims that she only transitioned two weeks earlier, the character tells the interviewer: ‘I’m not here to talk about my transition; I’m here to kick some f***ing a**.
‘Let me tell you something, I’m going to roll up the other women here and I’m going to smoke them. I am the strongest woman this state has ever seen!’
The cartoon by Trey Parker and Matt Stone has long been hailed for having its finger on the pulse of the country’s culture wars and its eerie prescience about how they might develop.
The cartoon featured transgender athlete ‘Heather Swanson’ sweeping to victory against female opponents and boasting ‘I am the strongest woman this state has ever seen!’
Khelif was banned from the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi last year after tests indicated she had XY chromosomes
Carin, 25, threw her helmet onto the floor and sobbed ‘this is unjust’ as the clash was abandoned after just two devastating punches from her Algerian opponent
Episodes have foreseen the legalization of recreational marijuana, the killing of Osama bin Laden and even the coming out as gay of singer Ricky Martin.
But fans online have noted that the events in Paris had a grim predictability.
‘It’s crazy but at the same time not really that South Park nailed this thing right on the head this type of thing was bound to happen,’ wrote one.
‘South Park is basically an animated docuseries at this point,’ claimed another.
‘South Park had the vision to see the decline of standard in our world years ahead of its time,’ added a third.
Khelif was banned from the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi last year after tests indicated she had ‘XY chromosomes’ — an indication a person is biologically male.
But the IOC — which sets entry guidelines for boxing at the Olympics — insisted that Khelif and another boxer, Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, who similarly previously failed a gender test, meet ‘all eligibility and entry regulations.’
Khelif herself has told Algerian media she has had high levels of the hormone testosterone since birth.
And Italy’s Carin isn’t the only female boxer to take issue with the strength of Khelif’s blows. After the Algerian’s 2023 disqualification, Mexico’s female boxer Brianda Tamara recalled her experience fighting Khelif earlier in the tournament.
‘When I fought with her I felt very out of my depth,’ she wrote on X.
‘Her blows hurt me a lot, I don’t think I had ever felt like that in my 13 years as a boxer, nor in my sparring with men.
The episode also mercilessly parodies biological women who welcome transgender rivals
South Park online have noted that the events in Paris had a grim predictability
‘Thank God that day I got out of the ring safely, and it’s good that they finally realised.’
Responding to the controversy Algeria’s Olympic Committee (COA) condemned what they called ‘baseless’ attacks on Khelif.
‘COA strongly condemns the unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets,’ they said.
‘Such attacks on her personality and dignity are deeply unfair, especially as she prepares for the pinnacle of her career at the Olympics.’