Transgender Olympian Weightlifter Knocked Out Of Competition Early

New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, the first openly transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics, has been eliminated from the women’s super heavyweight weightlifting competition. 

Hubbard failed to complete any of her three lifts during the event. 

Hubbard failed on her first attempt to get 120-kg above her head, bailing out early. On her second attempt at 125kg, she was able to get the weight up and pumped her fist after in satisfaction, however, judges ruled it a “no lift.”

She returned quickly for another attempt at 125kg only to fail to be able to stand up with the weight above her head. Hubbard was the only one of the 13 finalists to not complete at least one lift. –Yahoo Sports 

After her third failed attempt, she stood up, made a heart sign with her hands, and mouthed “thank you” to the crowd. Even though she got beaten by biological women, she made history as the first transgender to compete in the Games. 

The 43-year-old transgender generated tremendous attention in the run-up to the Games. Her inclusion in the Olympics was debated based on fairness to other competitors. 

Hubbard said: “The Olympic Games are a global celebration of our hopes, our ideals, and our values.” 

“I commend the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for its commitment to making sport inclusive and accessible,” added said. 

AFP provides several pictures of the transgender athlete crashing out of the Olympics. 

Following Hubbard, IOC is set to release an updated framework for transgender athletes, calling its current policy “outdated.”

Richard Budgett, director of the IOC’s medical and scientific department, said, “what’s important to remember is that trans women are women. And so, in the spirit of inclusion in sport, if at all possible, they should be included in the sport.”

“It’s only where there’s evidence of real concern — that that would lead to a disproportionate performance advantage for those individuals — should any rules and regulations come in to change that eligibility,” Budgett said.

“The IOC is determined to increase inclusion in sport as one of the fundamentals, but at the same time our highest, highest priority is fairness.”

The biggest hurdle for the IOC is how to determine “fairness.” 

There are anatomical differences between males and females. IOC’s latest acceptance of Hubbard and likely future trans athletes for the next Games could have devastating and long-lasting consequences as natural-born females no longer represent the Olympics as biological males start to make serious inroads into their sports.