These Olympics are becoming more inclusive, more real and much better as they go on, because the good news keeps coming, like that of Laurel Hubbard. The weightlifter made history by becoming the first openly transgender woman to compete in an Olympics.
The 43-year-old is also one of the oldest competitors in the Tokyo games and although she had previously participated in men’s weightlifting competitions before officially transitioning in 2013, this is one of the most important because after 18 years after the International Olympic Committee created a policy to allow transgender competitors, one finally made it to the fair.
Laurel’s competition was historic
The New Zealander competed on Monday 02 August in the women’s 87+ kg super heavyweight category. Unfortunately he did not get a medal, as his three lifting attempts were unsuccessful. However, their participation felt like a tremendous victory, especially for transgender people.
Hubbard was chosen to compete in 2015, when the International Olympic Committee published changes to its eligibility guidelines for transgender athletes, which include a limitation on testosterone levels. In the case of the transition from male to female, the committee mentions that the levels must be below 10 nanomoles per liter for at least 12 months before their first competition.
Kereyn Smith, head of the New Zealand Olympic Committee, called the athlete’s participation “historic.”
She is our first Olympian to go from male to female. We know there are many questions about the fairness of transgender athletes competing in the Olympics, but I would like to take this opportunity to remind all of us that Laurel has met all the required criteria.
His participation has triggered a series of criticisms
Some people questioned Laurel’s performance, arguing that the competition would not be equal and pointing out that she lived a large part of her life as a man and that would be an undeniable advantage over other women.
However, Lauren proved that she is up to par, unfortunately she was knocked out of the competition by only lifting 120kg on her first attempt and failing twice at 125kg. At the end of the day, she just wanted to compete as one more person in her category.
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