TV presenter Laura Woods has revealed she received “numerous death threats” online after commenting on an article about the eligibility of Olympic champion boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting.
They each won gold in their respective weight divisions at Paris 2024 amid a heated public debate over whether they should be eligible to compete in the women’s division.
Khelif from Algeria and Lin from Chinese Taipei were disqualified from last year’s World Championships after reportedly failing gender eligibility tests.
Both won gold in Paris after being cleared to take part by the International Olympic Committee.
On Thursday, football presenter Woods commented “great article” in reply to a post by the Telegraph’s Oliver Brown,, external who had written on the subject.
Woods, who works for TNT Sport and was part of ITV Sport’s coverage of Euro 2024 in Germany, said she had received dozens of hate-filled messages.
“Since I replied to this article I’ve had numerous death threats to myself and my unborn child,” Woods posted on X, external.
“Questions on my own gender (I’m pregnant so guess that clears that one up) calls for my employers to sack me, threats to my home.
“When there are discrepancies with test results – which could impact the safety of another human being, in an environment that above all else should be fair – questions are quite rightly going to be asked.
“The answers are still unclear, otherwise this topic would be closed.”
Khelif and Lin were disqualified by the Russian-led International Boxing Association (IBA) during last year’s World Championships.
The IBA said Khelif and Lin “failed to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in the women’s competition, as set and laid out in the IBA regulations”.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which ran the boxing events at the Olympics, allowed them to compete.
It raised doubts about the tests and strongly criticised the IBA, insisting Khelif and Lin were “born and raised as women”.
President Thomas Bach said last week that the IOC “does not like the uncertainty” but suggested there is no “scientifically solid system” to “identify men and women”.
Khelif said she had been a victim of “bullying” and that the IBA “hate me and I really don’t know why”.
Since winning Olympic gold, the 25-year-old has filed a lawsuit over alleged cyberbullying during the Paris Games, which reportedly names author JK Rowling and X owner Elon Musk.