Who is Noa-Lynn van Leuven? Transgender darts player set for World Championship

[Jessica_Rose]

Who is Noa-Lynn van Leuven? Transgender darts player set for World Championship debut

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/who-is-noa-lynn-van-leuven-transgender-darts-player-set-for-world-championship-debut/ar-AA1vWkw3?ocid=windirect&cvid=d199e76cd917432fd78345f18575fa77&ei=115

Story by Jamie Braidwood (16 Dec 2024)

When Noa-Lynn van Leuven walks onto the stage at Alexandra Palace, the 28-year-old will make history as the first transgender darts player to compete at the PDC World Championship.

Before her debut at the World Championship, Van Leuven told Sky Sports that details around her transition journey have been misrepresented. "They're like 'Noa-Lynn transitioned in 2022'. I did not. I transitioned about nine, 10 years ago," she told Sky. "They make it look like, okay, Noa-Lynn transitioned in 2021, a year before she started appearing on the women's tournament. That's not true. They're almost making it look like, OK, she wasn't good enough with the men, and now she's just going to do this."

Van Leuven believes there is more opposition behind her back... But she has also received support from players such as reigning world champion Luke Humphries and one of her heroes in Michael van Gerwen. "I just look at her as a dart player," Humphries said last month. "She has not broken any rules. She is doing what she is allowed to do. I can't say that she is doing anything wrong... It would be nice if people let her get on with it and play."