# New Zealand Weightlifter Will Be The First Openly Trans Competitor At The Olympics



## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 24, 2021)

New Zealand has named Laurel Hubbard to its women's weightlifting roster for the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo, making her the first openly transgender athlete to compete in the games.







Hubbard, 43, will compete in the category for women over 87 kg, about 192 pounds.


"I am grateful and humbled by the kindness and support that has been given to me by so many New Zealanders," Hubbard said in a statement on Monday. "When I broke my arm at the Commonwealth Games three years ago, I was advised that my sporting career had likely reached its end. But your support, your encouragement, and your aroha [love] carried me through the darkness."


But her selection is not without controversy. Some argue that because Hubbard went through male puberty, she will have an unfair advantage over her competitors.


*Hubbard has satisfied the IOC's requirements for trans women*​ 
Hubbard has met the International Olympic Committee's requirements for athletes who transition from male to female. The requirements stipulate that the athlete must declare that her gender identity is female and can't change that status for sports purposes for at least four years. The athlete's testosterone level must stay below 10 nanomoles per liter.




Those who transition from female to male are eligible to compete in the male category without restriction.




 
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Hubbard transitioned to female eight years ago at age 35. Before her transition, Hubbard competed in men's events, setting national records in junior competition, according to The Associated Press.


Hubbard's inclusion will be a vital signal for trans youth, says Schuyler Bailar, a trans man who competed in Division I men's swimming for four years at Harvard University.


"The power of inclusion, especially the power of visible inclusion, can be lifesaving," Bailar says. "I know for me, not seeing other transgender athletes out there, especially other folks in swimming and just specifically trans people everywhere, I didn't think that I could exist, and I didn't think I could be myself in my sport. And when I felt like I couldn't be myself in my sport, I felt like I couldn't be myself anywhere."


*Some argue Hubbard will have an unfair advantage*​ 
A recent study published in the _British Journal of Sports Medicine_ found that even after a year of hormone therapy, trans women on average had an advantage over cisgender, or nontransgender, women.







Hubbard competes at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
                   Manish Swarup/AP            

Anna Vanbellinghen, a Belgian weightlifter who is likely to compete against Hubbard, said in May that Hubbard's presence in the competition would not be fair.


"First off, I would like to stress that I fully support the transgender community and that what I'm about to say doesn't come from a place of rejection of this athlete's identity," Vanbellinghen told Olympics news site Inside the Games.


"I am aware that defining a legal frame for transgender participation in sports is very difficult since there is an infinite variety of situations and that reaching an entirely satisfactory solution, from either side of the debate, is probably impossible.


"However, anyone that has trained weightlifting at a high level knows this to be true in their bones: This particular situation is unfair to the sport and to the athletes."




 
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New Zealand Olympic Committee CEO Kereyn Smith welcomed Hubbard to the contingent, while acknowledging the tensions.


"As well as being among the world's best for her event, Laurel has met the IWF eligibility criteria including those based on IOC Consensus Statement guidelines for transgender athletes. We acknowledge that gender identity in sport is a highly sensitive and complex issue requiring a balance between human rights and fairness on the field of play," Smith said in a statement.







Hubbard is introduced to the crowd before competing in the women's +90kg (over 198 pounds) final at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
                   Scott Barbour/Getty Images            

*Athletes bring a range of biological differences to competition*​ 
Chelsea Wolfe, a freestyle BMX rider, is an alternate for the U.S. women's squad. If one of the two riders ahead of her dropped out, she would be the first openly trans member of Team USA. The website Outsports reported last month that there were at least nine trans or nonbinary athletes vying for spots on Olympic and Paralympic teams.


Bailar, the former Harvard swimmer, notes that the debate over trans women in sports often centers on questions of fairness and biological advantages.


"Here's the thing: Sports are based on biological differences," he says. "When we have athletes like Michael Phelps, who is tall — he's built for swimming. He has half the levels of lactic acid the average athlete produces, and nobody calls that unfair."


"When women have biological differences, they are called unfair as opposed to when men do, they are just called superior athletes," Bailar says. "The reality is that cis women even exhibit plenty of differences within sports. And that's not unfair. That's just differences in bodies."


In a 2017 interview with New Zealand news site Stuff, Hubbard noted that she competes under rules established by the International Olympic Committee in 2003 to allow transgender athletes to compete.


"This isn't a new thing. Perhaps the fact that it has taken so long for someone like myself to come through indicates that perhaps some of the problems that people are suggesting aren't perhaps what they might seem," Hubbard said.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 24, 2021)

This person was a successful record setting male weightlifter prior to transitioning so the women competing have little to no chance. Unless someone is slipping a little something into their protein smoothie.


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## lavaflow99 (Jun 24, 2021)

Leeda.the.Paladin said:


> This person was a successful record setting male weightlifter prior to transitioning so the women competing have little to no chance. Unless someone is slipping a little something into their protein smoothie.


Right?  They can go ahead and pencil in the gold medal winner today.


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## nysister (Jun 24, 2021)

I wonder if this will cause the Olympics to be taken less seriously and eventually disappear. This just doesn't make sense and is unfair to natural born women. 

Inclusion is one thing, and I would never mistreat anyone who considered themselves trans, but they in their hearts know that this situation isn't right, fair or kind.


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## Black Ambrosia (Jun 24, 2021)

nysister said:


> I wonder if this will cause the Olympics to be taken less seriously and eventually disappear. This just doesn't make sense and is unfair to natural born women.
> 
> Inclusion is one thing, and I would never mistreat anyone who considered themselves trans, but they in their hearts know that this situation isn't right, fair or kind.


I don’t think anyone cares about natural born women anymore. Just making the distinction seems to be problematic.


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## nysister (Jun 24, 2021)

Black Ambrosia said:


> I don’t think anyone cares about natural born women anymore. Just making the distinction seems to be problematic.


It does, doesn't it. As if saying I'm a natural born women negates trans people. It's not an erasure of them, it's simply stating a fact. 

If they're not careful, they'll alienate people who would defend them when needed.


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## frizzy (Jun 25, 2021)

Well they all look equally yoked in that photo.

I wouldn't think any of them were performing at the Olympic level, in any sport.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 25, 2021)

frizzy said:


> Well they all look equally yoked in that photo.
> 
> I wouldn't think any of them were performing at the Olympic level, in any sport.


 This person is competing in the heavier weight class. All these women lift heavy because mass moves mass. You will almost never see a trim or shredded olympic heavy weight class  lifter.

And they might all be big, but those women's faces actually have femininity in them.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 25, 2021)

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is Kuinini ‘Nini’ Manumua, the woman who was ultimately displaced by inclusion of Laurel Hubbard.<br><br>She’s 21, and it would have been her first Olympics. <a href="https://t.co/l8RH0q0njz">pic.twitter.com/l8RH0q0njz</a></p>&mdash; Emma Hilton (@FondOfBeetles) <a href="">June 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


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## OmbreLune (Jun 25, 2021)

They need to just say we'll refer to you as she/they whichever label you choose but if you were born and matured as a male then you will compete with males. It would garner so much more respect to see a transgender woman beat the odds against people that have the natural ability to be as strong or stronger than her.


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## nysister (Jun 25, 2021)

Leeda.the.Paladin said:


> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is Kuinini ‘Nini’ Manumua, the woman who was ultimately displaced by inclusion of Laurel Hubbard.<br><br>She’s 21, and it would have been her first Olympics. <a href="https://t.co/l8RH0q0njz">pic.twitter.com/l8RH0q0njz</a></p>&mdash; Emma Hilton (@FondOfBeetles) <a href="">June 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


I would be so angry if I were her. What about her dignity? Especially as a woman of color? Here this white person comes along, as says "your efforts mean nothing, because I'm a white man, and I want what you have." This is the same colonization with a different flavor. 

I feel for people who don't think that they "match", that can't be easy, but this type of issue is not the way to get people to feel for you and see your side of things.


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## nysister (Jun 25, 2021)

I know this shouldn't matter, but if you're going to decide to be a woman, you really should make an effort to look like one. That looks like a man. Is she even taking hormones?


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## nysister (Jun 25, 2021)

Major Sports Stars Speak Out Against Transgender Olympic Athlete
					

Laurel Hubbard will become the first transgender woman to compete at the Olympics after being selected in New Zealand's weightlifting team for the Tokyo Games.




					www.newsweek.com


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 25, 2021)

nysister said:


> I know this shouldn't matter, but if you're going to decide to be a woman, you really should make an effort to look like one. That looks like a man. Is she even taking hormones?


She said “I wore pink shoes!”.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 25, 2021)

nysister said:


> Major Sports Stars Speak Out Against Transgender Olympic Athlete
> 
> 
> Laurel Hubbard will become the first transgender woman to compete at the Olympics after being selected in New Zealand's weightlifting team for the Tokyo Games.
> ...


Brett Favre said he gon tell it like it is wow


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## nysister (Jun 25, 2021)

Leeda.the.Paladin said:


> Brett Favre said he gon tell it like it is wow


He sure did. I was just sipping tea with that quote.


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## fluffyforever (Jun 26, 2021)

It is not fair for people who have had male levels of hormones for most of their lives and developed their muscles with those male hormones to only then decrease their testosterone levels to compete against natural born women. It is clearly an unfair advantage.

Politics and gender identity have nothing to do with science.

I don’t have a problem with people identifying how they want, but when they start negatively and unfairly affecting other people’s lives by inserting themselves into spaces they weren’t born to be in, I do have an issue with it. 

Life isn’t fair. We are all dealt a certain hand in life and should be making the most of it without marginalizing others even further.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Jun 28, 2021)

Chiiillle. 

People don't realize that your brain chemistry, how you developed is WHY you got to the point of being such a big and ripped weight lifter. Now you take drugs to lower your androgen and testosterone and now youz a girl? Okay? As if chemistry makes one a woman. Bye.


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## Everything Zen (Jun 29, 2021)

nysister said:


> Major Sports Stars Speak Out Against Transgender Olympic Athlete
> 
> 
> Laurel Hubbard will become the first transgender woman to compete at the Olympics after being selected in New Zealand's weightlifting team for the Tokyo Games.
> ...


A broken clock is right twice a day, but it’s still racist “All Lives Matter” Brett Favre.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 29, 2021)

naturalgyrl5199 said:


> Chiiillle.
> 
> People don't realize that your brain chemistry, how you developed is WHY you got to the point of being such a big and ripped weight lifter. Now you take drugs to lower your androgen and testosterone and now youz a girl? Okay? As if chemistry makes one a woman. Bye.


I'm just mad that they seem so proud when they win. How is it a true challenge and victory?


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## nysister (Jun 29, 2021)

Everything Zen said:


> A broken clock is right twice a day, but it’s still racist “All Lives Matter” Brett Favre.


I totally agree.


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## nysister (Jun 29, 2021)

Leeda.the.Paladin said:


> I'm just mad that they seem so proud when they win. How is it a true challenge and victory?


Some people seem very happy that they're on top no matter how they get there. I think the same in the work place, with people that do nothing, but the team they work on does well, and you'd think they actually did something of worth. It's conditioned in some people that winning is everything, no matter how it's done.


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## dancinstallion (Jun 29, 2021)

nysister said:


> Some people seem very happy that they're on top no matter how they get there. I think the same in the work place, with people that do nothing, but the team they work on does well, and you'd think they actually did something of worth. It's conditioned in some people that winning is everything, no matter how it's done.



Yes and how some people sleep their way to the top or cheat, they feel like they deserve to win and be on top no matter how they got there.


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## Chicoro (Jul 8, 2021)

naturalgyrl5199 said:


> Chiiillle.
> 
> People don't realize that your brain chemistry, how you developed is WHY you got to the point of being such a big and ripped weight lifter. Now you take drugs to lower your androgen and testosterone and now youz a girl? Okay? As if chemistry makes one a woman. Bye.



Wait wait....you mean a white, Australian, transgendered person from male to female can take hormone altering drugs WHICH DO IMPACT PERFORMANCE by enhancing one's strength, and be included and WELCOMED in the women's category in the Olympics ..but a natural born, black woman gets banned from the Olympics, for smoking some marijuana which DOES NOT enhance performance.

At first, I was like, "It's only fair that Sha' Carri Richardson should not be able to compete because she did not follow the rules." I should have known that the rules would not be applied the same way, across the board.

That's unfortunate.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Jul 9, 2021)

Chicoro said:


> Wait wait....you mean a white, Australian, transgendered person from male to female can take hormone altering drugs WHICH DO IMPACT PERFORMANCE by enhancing one's strength, and be included and WELCOMED in the women's category in the Olympics ..but a natural born, black woman gets banned from the Olympics, for smoking some marijuana which DOES NOT enhance performance.
> 
> At first, I was like, "It's only fair that Sha' Carri Richardson should not be able to compete because she did not follow the rules."* I should have known that the rules would not be applied the same way, across the board.*
> 
> That's unfortunate.


B I N G O.

When the elders used to tell us the game is rigged....this is exactly what they meant. We playing catch up with the rules they set long ago.


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## caribeandiva (Aug 2, 2021)

naturalgyrl5199 said:


> Chiiillle.
> 
> People don't realize that your brain chemistry, how you developed is WHY you got to the point of being such a big and ripped weight lifter. Now you take drugs to lower your androgen and testosterone and *now youz a girl? Okay? **As if chemistry makes one a woman. Bye.*


But he wore pink shoes!! He’s a total girl now


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## dancinstallion (Aug 2, 2021)

I wonder how he did? I pray a woman beats him.  I see he competes tomorrow.


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## frizzy (Aug 2, 2021)

naturalgyrl5199 said:


> B I N G O.
> 
> When the elders used to tell us the game is rigged....this is exactly what they meant. We playing catch up with the rules they set long ago.


The rules change daily, as needed.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Aug 2, 2021)

Trans Athlete Laurel Hubbard Has Made Olympic History Competing In Individual Event​
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August 2, 202110:49 AM ET
BILL CHAPPELL
Twitter






Laurel Hubbard has made history by becoming the first openly transgender athlete to compete in an individual event at the Summer Olympics. The New Zealand weightlifter did not make the podium, after failing to advance to the final.
Competing in the 87+kg class on Monday, Hubbard struggled to lift 125 kg (275 pounds), putting her out of the running. Her official result is "did not finish," as she bowed out after failing to record a clean lift in the snatch section of the two-part competition.

Hubbard had seemed to successfully lift the weight in her second of three attempts — but in a split decision, the judges ruled she had not held the bar steady above her head.

SPORTS​Openly LGBTQ Olympians Would Rank 14th In Medal Wins If They Were A Country​Despite failing to reach the final round, Hubbard smiled and cupped her hands together in a heart gesture before walking off the stage at the Tokyo International Forum.

"My performance wasn't what I had hoped, but I'm humbled by the support I've received from so many people around New Zealand," she said, adding, "I am aware that my participation has been controversial."

"Thank you to the IOC for living up to the Olympic values and showing that sport is for all and that weightlifting can be done by all types of people," Hubbard said.


In her emotional farewell, Hubbard also thanked Japan for hosting the Games, according to her country's Olympic committee.



—————

*The gold was won by China's Li Wenwen, the world record holder in the event. Team USA's Sarah Robles won bronze. It's the second bronze for Robles, who in 2016 broke a long Olympic drought for U.S. weightlifting.




*


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## dancinstallion (Aug 2, 2021)

Leeda.the.Paladin said:


> Trans Athlete Laurel Hubbard Has Made Olympic History Competing In Individual Event​
> Facebook
> Twitter
> Flipboard
> ...



Thank you *Li Wenwen, Campbell, Robles * and the weightlifting Gods! For beating this man.
You have made us proud.


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## OmbreLune (Aug 2, 2021)

The transgender woman did horrible, she didnt even complete any of her lifts! What a slap in the face to the Tongan athlete that got displaced because of her.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Aug 2, 2021)

OmbreLune said:


> The transgender woman did horrible, she didnt even complete any of her lifts! What a slap in the face to the Tongan athlete that got displaced because of her.


Doesnt matter. She "made history".


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## OmbreLune (Aug 2, 2021)

Leeda.the.Paladin said:


> Doesnt matter. She "made history".


Yeah the announcers wouldnt shut up about her being there even while the actual medalists were announced. So annoying. My question is - would transmen even be allowed to compete because they have to take testosterone right? Would that be considered doping?


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## [email protected]@ (Aug 3, 2021)

Leeda.the.Paladin said:


> Trans Athlete Laurel Hubbard Has Made Olympic History Competing In Individual Event​
> Facebook
> Twitter
> Flipboard
> ...



Whatever ho


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## caribeandiva (Aug 3, 2021)

[email protected]@ said:


> Whatever ho


Tell us how you really feel!


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Aug 4, 2021)

An Olympics reporter was met with silence when he asked the women's weightlifting podium about Laurel Hubbard
					

The American lifter Sarah Robles, who won the bronze medal, eventually said, "No, thank you," and moved the conference on.




					www.insider.com
				




I’m dying lol!


> "There was a historic night here with Laurel Hubbard competing as the first openly transgender in an individual event," the reporter said at the press conference."I was wondering what you felt about that and what you felt that took place in your sport," the reporter asked the podium.








> Campbell had been speaking, at length, but the reporter appeared to be asking all the athletes for their insights on Hubbard's participation in Tokyo.





> At first, nobody answered.Li was unfazed, Campbell did not move, and Robles sipped water.





> Eight seconds passed before Robles said, "No, thank you."





> Robles also made history as the first American woman to win two Olympic weightlifting medals. She had also won bronze at the 2016 Games in the +75-kilogram category.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Aug 4, 2021)

Leeda.the.Paladin said:


> An Olympics reporter was met with silence when he asked the women's weightlifting podium about Laurel Hubbard
> 
> 
> The American lifter Sarah Robles, who won the bronze medal, eventually said, "No, thank you," and moved the conference on.
> ...


They didn't take the bait. 
I mean you don't want to ask us NOTHING about our wins?
It IS a slap in the face. And the lifter PURPOSEFULLY didn't lift.


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## fluffyforever (Aug 4, 2021)

naturalgyrl5199 said:


> They didn't take the bait.
> I mean you don't want to ask us NOTHING about our wins?
> It IS a slap in the face. And the lifter PURPOSEFULLY didn't lift.


 Didn’t watch the event. The trans person failed the last three lifts on purpose?


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## futureapl (Aug 4, 2021)

fluffyforever said:


> Didn’t watch the event. The trans person failed the last three lifts on purpose?


I think so too. That way no one can say that the trans lifter had an unfair advantage.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Aug 5, 2021)

fluffyforever said:


> Didn’t watch the event. The trans person failed the last three lifts on purpose?


Its a guess. Like how can you not lift when you are in the Olympics?


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## LivingInPeace (Aug 5, 2021)

futureapl said:


> I think so too. That way no one can say that the trans lifter had an unfair advantage.


Just the fact that a 43 year old man was able to qualify over 20 something women should let people know that they have an advantage.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Aug 5, 2021)

She was probably advised to take one for the team and do a poor job so other trans would not to appear to be a threat


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