The executive director of the Finnish Boxing Association says that Pihla Kaivo-oja’s team does not want to receive the IBA’s bonus money.
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The boxing federation rejected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is offering huge prize money to athletes competing in the Paris Games.
In Paris, the IOC organized the boxing tournament itself, because the IBA, which was embroiled in numerous corruption charges, was no longer allowed to do so. The IOC has said that it will not organize Olympic boxing in four years.
The International Boxing Association IBA has promised to pay 100,000 US dollars for the Olympic gold, and, for example, 10,000 dollars for all those who reached the quarter-finals, i.e. the top five. IBA runs on Russian money.
Represented Finland in the 50 kg women’s series Pihla Kaivo-oja finished fifth in the tournament. IBA therefore offers 9,157 euros to Kaivo-oja.
The Finnish Boxing Federation left the IBA in October 2023 and joined World Boxing, which is a new international sports federation for Olympic-style boxing. Executive Director of the Finnish Federation Marko Laine says that the union does not recommend accepting the money.
– I have talked with Pihla’s team and their position is that they will not accept this kind of money. It is against their values, Laine says.
The losing Italian gets the Olympic winner’s reward
The Olympic boxing at the Paris Games has been stirred up by women’s gender doubts. Algerian Imane Khelif and Taiwan Li Yu-ting have been at the center of controversy.
The Algerian and Taiwanese were disqualified from last year’s World Championships because the IBA said they had a “competitive advantage over other women”. In other words, the gender of both was suspected.
The Algerian Khelif won the 66-kilogram Olympic gold. On the way to the final, he beat Italy by Angela Carin in 46 seconds. The IBA has promised to pay the Italian an Olympic champion’s fee, i.e. 91,570 euros.
– I am not indifferent to the matter. I assure you that we will protect every boxer. I don’t understand why they want to kill women’s boxing. Only athletes who meet the eligibility requirements should be allowed to compete in the ring for safety reasons, IBA president Umar Kremlinov says in the announcement.
Kremlin has promised a reward for Uzbekistan as well Sitora Turdibekovawho lost to Taiwan’s Li in the 57-kilogram quarterfinals.
During his presidency, Kremljov has transferred the association’s operations to Russia, excluded Ukraine from the IBA, and made the energy giant Gazprom the sole sponsor of the association. Kremljov is also close to the Russian president Vladimir Putin with.
The boxing federations of Uzbekistan and Italy are members of the IBA. The Executive Director of the Boxing Association, Marko Laine, does not speculate on what kind of decision the athletes will make. He comments on bonus offers in general.
– This is IBA’s influence in Russia. The IBA has been shelved from the Olympics and these offers are related to that (the resistance), Marko Laine estimates.