Before the World Cup debut
Darts player speaks about death threats
12/13/2024 – 8:41 a.mReading time: 1 min.
Darts player Noa-Lynn van Leuven should actually be looking forward to her World Cup debut. But the trans woman is threatened – and has now spoken about it.
She has made darts history and wants to continue it – but the Dutchwoman Noa-Lynn van Leuven has it anything but easy. She is the first trans woman to qualify for the World Championships in London (December 15th to January 3rd – the schedule can be found here). Before her debut, she spoke openly about mod threats.
She said on Sport1’s “Checkout” podcast: “Someone wrote to me: If you follow my girl into the women’s toilet, I will kill you.” Such threats unsettled her, so much so that she even asked herself at the airport whether she was being watched. She summed up: “This is terrible.”
Two years ago, Noa-Lynn van Leuven completed gender reassignment hormone therapy. She also received hostility from other players who believed they were at a disadvantage in the women’s series. According to the regulations of the world association PDC, van Leuven’s start is permitted.
The darts player also spoke honestly in the podcast about her past and how difficult it was for her: “I wasn’t a happy child. I always asked myself: What’s wrong with me? I always felt different. I never fit in with the boys, “I’ve always blended in with the girls’ groups.” She also suffered from depression. She was then helped in a gender care clinic.