Laura Woods wades into boxing’s gender row as she praises claims IOC ‘failed to protect female athletes’ and takes on social media users dismissing her stance after Imane Khelif’s Olympic gold triumph

Popular broadcaster Laura Woods has waded into the Olympic boxing gender row.

Much of the conversation around the women’s boxing events at Paris 2024 centred on Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, who both won gold medals.

Algerian welterweight Khelif and Taiwanese featherweight Lin were allowed to compete despite being disqualified from last year’s IBA Women’s World Championships for failing to meet eligibility criteria.

The IBA had previously been in charge of Olympic boxing events before the IOC ended the partnership over governance and finance concerns. Despite having no direct involvement in the 2024 Olympics, the IBA made multiple statements during the Games.

One came from IBA chief executive Chris Roberts, who said of Khelif and Lin: ‘The results of the chromosome tests demonstrated both boxers were ineligible [for the tournament in 2023].’

Imane Khelif won a gold medal for Algeria in the women’s welterweight event at Paris 2024

Khelif (left) defeated Liu Yang (right) of China in the 66kg gold medal fight at Roland Garros

Lin Yu-ting also won a women’s boxing gold medal at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris

Taiwanese boxer Yu-ting (left) beat Polish fighter Julia Szeremeta (right) in the 57kg final

Roberts said that the results of the tests had been sent to the IOC in June last year and that the body had done ‘nothing with it’. 

On Sunday morning, the final day of Olympic competition at Paris 2024, The Telegraph‘s Oliver Brown published an article titled: ‘Blinded by ideology: Inside boxing row that undermined IOC and tarnished Olympics’.

Brown declared in the article that IOC president Thomas Bach had ‘failed in his duty to protect female athletes by allowing Khelif and Lin to win gold despite failing sex tests’.

A day after the article was published, talkSPORT and TNT Sports presenter Woods replied to a tweet by the author on X (formerly Twitter).

Woods wrote: ‘Great article Oli’, followed by an applause emoji.

This comment sparked hundreds of replies to Woods, who then argued with several fans via the social media network. 

Laura Woods pictured working for TNT Sports during last season’s UEFA Champions League

Woods was part of the ITV presenting team at UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany earlier this summer

One fan tweeted: ‘It’s a terrible article, wtf?’ Woods challenged the comment by asking: ‘What’s terrible about it? Specifically’.

A different comment aimed at Woods read: ‘Actually it isn’t, do a bit more research!’ Woods hit back: ‘Which part?’

Another fan simply wrote: ‘Ewww’, to which Woods replied: ‘What’s eww, Jamie? Be more specific’.

One of the longer tweets aimed at Woods read: ‘Pretty poor – She’s had tests to prove her gender and she was born a woman. No actual evidence of her failing XY tests as well’.

Woods demanded more information as she wrote: ‘Which tests were those and where’s the evidence of that?’

Another fan referenced the fact that Khelif had also competed at the 2021 Games, where she lost to Ireland’s Kellie Harrington in the quarter-finals of the women’s lightweight event. ‘Trying to find the one he did when she fought and lost in Tokyo,’ they wrote. ‘Do you have any links for it?’

Woods said in response: ‘That’s what you took from this entire article? Or didn’t you read it?”

Meanwhile, one message aimed at Woods saw the 37-year-old told: ‘You are never beating the Tory allegations Laura’.

She replied: ‘I’ve really got past the point of caring about pleasing other people on social media, Oli.’

Lin and particularly Khelif faced a barrage of criticism during the Games.

After winning gold, Khelif had a strong message for her critics. ‘I am fully qualified,’ she said. ‘I am a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived as a woman, I competed as woman – there is no doubt.’

The 25-year-old added: ‘There are enemies of success of course. That gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.’

Khelif also had a political message. ‘I want to tell the world that they should commit to the Olympic principles and they should not bully people,’ she said. 

‘This is the message of the Olympics. I hope people stop bullying. We are in the Olympics to perform as athletes, to our families. I hope will not see any similar attacks in future.’