Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard is likely to become the first openly transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics.
Due to a rule change put in place by the International Olympic Committee that amended the qualifying system for the COVID-delayed Tokyo games, Hubbard has been guaranteed a spot in the competition — which are now scheduled for 2021. The new rules were reportedly put in place because so many qualifying competitions were canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Hubbard, 43, is from New Zealand and has not yet been officially named to the national women’s weightlifting team headed to the 17-day competition later this year. Their best total in qualifying is 285 kilograms, which Inside the Games, an Olympic-focused news publication, says “puts [them] very much in the reckoning for a place on the podium in the women’s super-heavyweights in Tokyo.”
Before their transition in 2013, Hubbard competed in men’s weightlifting competitions. In 2018, Australia’s weightlifting federation attempted to prohibit Hubbard from participating in the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, but the organizers refused. During the competition, they suffered a gruesome arm injury that forced them to exit while they were leading. In 2019, they staged a fantastic comeback, winning gold medals at the Pacific Games in Samoa.
Trans women have been eligible to compete at the Olympics since 2013, and Hubbard qualifies under the new International Olympic Committee (IOC) regulations passed in 2015 that allow trans women to compete in the women’s division if their testosterone levels have been below 10 nanomoles per litre for at least 12 months.
The IOC is planning to publish new guidelines on transgender athletes following the Tokyo Games, which are scheduled to take place between July 23 and August 8.
Richard Budgett, the IOC’s medical and scientific director, acknowledged last year that no matter the decision the committee makes, the result “will undoubtedly upset a lot of people.” He added that the IOC has “got to find a fair balance” between the views of transgender athletes and their allies, and those who argue it is unfair to allow transgender women to compete against cisgender women, as the Associated Press reportd at the time.
“[It’s] a very difficult process, a very sensitive process, and there’s no easy answer,” Budget said.
While Hubbard’s qualification will undoubtedly draw criticism from anti-trans activists,
USA Weightlifting has said it supports Hubbard, who has been competing in alignment with their gender identity at major events since 2017.
“We respect the rules established by the International Weightlifting Federation and the International Olympic Committee for qualification and will be focusing on assisting our athletes to compete against all those who are qualified for the Tokyo Games,” USA Weightlifting spokesman Kevin Farley told Reuters.
Last year, marathon runner Megan Youngren became the first openly trans woman to compete in the U.S. Olympic trials, while race walker Chris Mosier became the first trans man to do so. Neither have qualified for the competition. Nikki Hiltz, a 500m runner, is set to become the first out, non-binary athlete to compete in the U.S. Olympic trials when they race in Eugene, Oregon next month.
As dozens of states across the country push bills seeking to ban trans athletes from sports, Hubbard has acknowledged that their desire to compete comes at a politically sensitive moment.
“[E]ven 10 years ago the world perhaps wasn’t ready for an athlete like myself — and perhaps it is not ready now,” Hubbard told the LGBTQ+ news site Gay Times back in 2017, following their silver medal at the World Championships. “But I got the sense at least that people were willing to consider me for these competitions and it seemed like the right time to put the boots on and hit the platform.”
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