On 21st June 2021, the Olympic Committee of New Zealand (NZOC) announced that Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard will participate in the upcoming New Zealand Olympic team, thus, becoming the first-ever transgender athlete to take part in the Olympic games, under the 87+ kilogram women’s category. However, this decision has also attracted a lot of controversies and especially after weightlifter Anna Van Bellinghen from Belgian has openly professed that permitting a transgender woman in the Olympic women event is absolutely unfair to many. Meanwhile, Hubbard is extremely glad that she got support from numerous athletes as well as New Zealanders.
Laurel Hubbard Wiki-bio
Laurel Hubbard became the first transgender weightlifter of New Zealand to compete at the Summer Olympics 2020, also known as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after transforming from man to woman. Back in 1988, when Hubbard was not transitioned to woman, she took part in the mens’ weightlifting championship and set a new junior record under the men’s 105+ weight division.
- Name: Laurel Hubbard
- Age: 43 years
- D.O.B: 9th February 1978
- Nationality: New Zealand
- Gender: Transgender
- Profession: Weightlifter
- Record: 2017 World Weightlifting Championships (Silver medal under +90kg category), 2019 Pacific Games (Gold medal under +87kg category)
- Marriage: N.A
In the year 2012, Hubbard did gender transition and became a female. After the transition, she took part in the Australian International in the year 2017 and won a gold medal under the 90+ weight category, thus, becoming the first-ever transgender woman to conquer international weightlifting for her country. Later, in the year 2018, she qualified for the commonwealth games, however, she suffered an injury at her elbow during the game, which ultimately forced her to withdraw from the game. She recorded her latest winning in the year 2020, where she took part in the 2020 Roma World Cup under the 87+ kg women’s event and eventually won a gold model.
The chief of the New Zealand Olympic Committee, Kereyn Smith has also stated that it is an epic and memorable moment in the history of sports and also for all the New Zealdm team. Referring to Hubbard, Smith also said that she is the first Olympian of New Zealand who has transformed from a male to a female. Smith also stated that she knows that numerous people are in doubt regarding the morality of the game after the inclusion of a transgender woman in the Olympic women’s category, however, she clearly stated that Laurel has met all the mandatory standards and test.
Well, as per the guidelines set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a transgender athlete is eligible to contest as a woman subject to the criteria that the testosterone level must be under 10 nanomoles per litre for at most 365 days prior to their first match. Moreover, though, Hubbard has cleared all the set criteria, many weightlifters including the Save Women’s Sports Australasia are opposing the including of Hubbard in the women’s category sports and has also claimed that the selection of Hubbard is done by the IOC based on weak and imprecise policy. Stay tuned with us, for more such news.
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