Sports presenter Laura Woods has expressed her approval of the International Olympic Committee's landmark ruling on transgender athletes in women's events.
The 38-year-old broadcaster responded to the announcement with three clapping emojis on social media, making her position abundantly clear.
Woods has been vocal on this issue previously, having faced significant personal attacks for her stance during the Paris 2024 Games.
She received death threats directed at her then-unborn child after questioning boxer Imane Khelif's participation two years ago.
The IOC have banned transgender athletes from female sports at the Olympics
|GETTY
"I have empathy for the girls and women who want safe sport," Woods wrote on X.
"My son will learn to respect women and their boundaries, that is far more important than what you're suggesting here."
The presenter had previously described feeling "so angry" about the treatment of those who raised concerns during the Khelif controversy.
The IOC's new policy, announced by President Kirsty Coventry, will see transgender women and athletes with differences in sexual development barred from competing in female categories at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
All women wishing to participate will be required to undergo mandatory SRY gene screening, a non-invasive test conducted via saliva sample or cheek swab.
"As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition," stated Coventry, herself a seven-time Olympic swimming medallist.
"The policy that we have announced is based on science and has been led by medical experts."
Laura Woods has given her backing to the IOC verdict
| PAThe 42-year-old, who was elected to lead the IOC twelve months ago, emphasised that even marginal advantages matter at elite level.
"It is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category," she declared.
Former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, who claimed silver in the 400m individual medley at the 1980 Moscow Games, offered an even more emphatic response to the ruling.
The British sporting icon welcomed the decision but urged authorities to extend protections beyond the elite level.
"This must also happen at grassroots and recreational levels," Davies wrote.
"Sex-based protection cannot only be for the top one per cent."
In another post, she reflected on the extraordinary nature of the moment.
"How mad that we are having to get excited about women's sport being for women!" she exclaimed.
"What a mad place we got to where we allowed anyone to identify into an advantage in a category they had no business being in."
Sharron Davies has long fought for the rights of women in sport | GB NEWS / GETTYDavies also described the controversy surrounding Khelif as "a shameful episode in Olympic history."
The policy shift follows an extensive scientific investigation launched by the IOC in the wake of the Paris 2024 Games, which were overshadowed by the boxing controversy involving Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting.
Previously, the governing body permitted transgender women to compete provided their testosterone levels met thresholds approved by individual sports federations.
The new regulations will affect several athletes who had hoped to participate in Los Angeles.
Laurel Hubbard won't be able to compete in LA
| GETTYNew Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, who became the first openly transgender woman to compete at a Summer Olympics when she appeared at the delayed Tokyo Games in 2021, finished seventh in her category.
Valentina Petrillo, who competed at the Paris Paralympics last year in the T12 women's 400m, will also be impacted by the ruling.