Laura Woods couldn’t fathom her fears of being cancelled when wading into the gender row that engulfed the 2024 Olympic Games. It was the participation and subsequent gold medal won by Algeria’s Imane Khelif in the women’s welterweight boxing division in Paris last year that came under the global spotlight. 

The 26-year-old, alongside China’s Lin Yu-ting, had been disqualified from the World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) – a Russian-backed and discredited world governing body – a year prior after claiming that her blood test findings proved her ineligibility to compete against females. However, the organisation failed to provide any documented evidence regarding the results. The tests were then ruled to not be credible by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which cleared the pair to compete at the Games.

The TNT Sports presenter took to social media in the midst of the controversy, openly praising a Telegraph article that claimed biological women were put in harm’s way by the IOC’s decision by allowing Khelif – who has previously been incorrectly labelled as transgender – and Lin to compete in Paris. Over a year since her co-sign of the published piece, she spoke to the newspaper and revealed she feared speaking out would have led to her being cancelled.

Woods, 38, said: “I remember just almost screaming internally, because I felt there was such an injustice going on in front of our eyes. I was so angry that everyone who wanted to talk about it openly was gaslighted into thinking that what they were saying was wrong.

“It still annoys me now, because there was so much sympathy given to Khelif, and such a lack of it to the women around that athlete. It felt so disproportionate. I couldn’t believe that even questioning it out loud was worthy of cancellation.”

Since Khelif’s victory over Yang Liu in last year’s final, the Algerian has pledged to compete at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles despite President Donald Trump promising to ban biological men from competing in women’s sports. The US leader even falsely implied that Khelif was born a male, which prompted a response from the boxer earlier this year.

Speaking to ITV Sport, Khelif said: “The US President issued a decision related to transgender policies in America. I am not transgender. This does not concern me, and it does not intimidate me. That is my response.” She admitted the scrutiny she faced last year left a mental and emotional toll on her.

“I was deeply affected mentally and felt discouraged, but I remained aware of what was happening,” she added. “Even during the Paris Olympics, I had a team of specialist doctors who provided me with support and assistance. Without their support, I might have fallen into a spiral of depression.”