Paris, Nov 12 (AP) Sarah Ourahmoune, a silver medalist at the 2016 Olympic Games, has withdrawn her bid to become president of the French boxing federation, saying she has been the target of vicious racist and sexist attacks.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.

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“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.

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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.” (AP) AM

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)