Laurel Hubbard, who is a New Zealand based transgender weightlifter has been chosen as the first transgender Tokyo Olympics athlete
Kereyn Smith, who is the chief of New Zealand Olympic Committee talked about Hubbard and said, “He is 43. He was born male, who later transformed to female, when she turned 30. She cleared all the eligibility criteria as transgender athletes.” Smith also issued a statement, which said, “We recognize the concept of gender identity in sport.”
Why was Laurel Hubbart chosen As The Tokyo Olympics 2021 First Transgender Athlete
Hubbart, had competed as a male. He became eligible to compete as a woman only when the testosterone levels were below the required amount as has been set by the International Olympic Committe (IOC).
She will be participating in the women’s 87 kg in this years Olympics. She currently holds the 16th rank position.
What does the Weightlifting Olympic committee have to say
The decision of choosing Hubbard was not liked by all. Tracey Lambrechs criticized this as she was not happy with this and said, “During last month, the concerns of female born weightlifters were ignored.”
What does the IOC rulebook says?
According to IOC, any transwoman can compete, only when her testosterone levels are less than 10 nanomoles per litre. Hubbard has met this criteria.
On the other hand, some critics have also pointed out that the reason why this is unfair to other female weightlifters is because her physical transformation has come from a male body which kind of gives Hubbart an upper hand over the female athletes.
Hubbart being an introvert person, had refused to make any statement in the media, especially the topic of gender issue. Although the NZOC had released some remarks.
She just expressed her gratitude to the community for supporting her throughout her journey.
Japan Olympics 2021
The games are slated to get underway later this year in July. Despite the bruhaha around the Tokyo Olympics owing to the Coronavirus pandemic in Japan, the country’s government as asserted that things will go ahead as planned.
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