New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard was a gold favorite. Now the 43-year-old trans woman has clearly missed a medal spot in Tokyo. In the run-up there had been a lot of discussion about her entry into the Olympics.
The New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard clearly missed a medal in the weight class over 87 kilograms at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. After three invalid attempts, Hubbard was eliminated from the Tokyo International Forum on Monday and could no longer intervene in the medal battle. The 43-year-old is the first female athlete at the Olympic Games to openly change her gender identity.
The gold medal went to Wenwen Li from China, silver went to Emily Jade Campbell from Great Britain, and bronze went to Sarah Elizabeth Robles from the USA.
“I am who I am”
Hubbard lived with a male imputation for 35 years after she was born. But she is transgender, i.e. a person who does not feel that she belongs to the gender that was assigned to her at birth. According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the New Zealander is the first athlete at the Olympics who has openly changed her gender identity.
There had previously been some controversial discussions about their admission to the women’s competition. “I am who I am. I am not there to change the world. I just want to be me and do what I do,” Hubbard said on public television in her home country in one of her rare interviews in late 2017.
For the IOC around President Thomas Bach, her start was a sign of openness and inclusion. However, some of their competitors saw it differently – they suspected that Hubbard might have an advantage.
“I understand that nothing is as easy for sports authorities as following common sense and that there are many imponderables in investigating such a rare phenomenon. But it feels like a bad joke to athletes,” she said Belgian Anna Van Bellinghen, who started in Hubbard’s weight class, recently on the portal “insidethegames.com”. Van Bellinghen stressed that she fully supports the transgender community and does not deny the identity of athletes.
According to the rules: testosterone level is crucial for participation
Legally, however, Hubbard’s participation was not a problem. The IOC stipulates that the testosterone level of a person who has been declared a woman may be a maximum of 10 nanomoles per liter of blood for at least twelve months before the competition. The World Athletics Federation has issued a different value, and this is just half that, i.e. five nanomoles.
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
