Female athletes were main target of abuse, study shows

Female athletes were the main target of online abuse during this year’s World Championships, a World Athletics study has found.

According to the research, which studied posts on Twitter and Instagram, almost 60 per cent of abusive messages singled out women.

Over 40 per cent of those were sexualised and sexist in nature at the World Championships in Eugene. British pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw suffered abuse when she was injured after her pole snapped.

She said: “I was shocked with the extent of the abuse. I wouldn’t have expected it.”