Olympic medalist Ourahmoune withdraws from French boxing elections citing racist and sexist attacks

In an open letter published this week, Ourahmoune said she found herself at the receiving end of insults that went beyond anything she could have imagined in the buildup to next month’s election.

French boxer Sarah Ourahmoune arrives to take part in the 2017 “Soiree des Champions” (Champions gala), on January 23, 2018, at the National Institute of Sport, expertise, and performance (Insep) in Paris. | Photo Credit: AFP

Sarah Ourahmoune, a silver medalist at the 2016 Olympic Games, has withdrawn her bid to become president of the French boxing federation, saying she has been the target of vicious racist and sexist attacks.

In an open letter published this week, Ourahmoune said she found herself at the receiving end of insults that went beyond anything she could have imagined in the buildup to next month’s election.

“Words like ‘the token Arab’, ‘the federation’s cleaning lady’, or even ‘the (expletive) of...’,” she wrote on social media. “Not to mention anonymous messages of unprecedented and deeply shocking violence.”

Ourahmoune had been campaigning on a joint bid alongside the current president, Dominique Nato.

Another female boxer, the 2016 Olympic lightweight champion Estelle Mossely, is also a candidate.

“I never thought I’d be attacked like this because of my origins or simply because I’m a woman,” Ourahmoune said.

“My decision to step down has cost me enormously, because it seems to contradict everything I stand for on a daily basis: courage, resilience, the ability to fight in hostile environments, to push back the limits of what is possible, and to defend equality, diversity and gender balance.”