New Zealand weightlifter, Laurel Hubbard, is set to become the first out trans Olympian, with the 43-year-old recently qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.
According to Reuters, Hubbard transitioned in 2013, and has been eligible to compete in the Olympics since 2015 after a change in guidelines meant trans women could participate providing their testosterone levels were below 10 nanomoles per litre.Although Australia’s weightlifting federation sought to block Hubbard from competing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, organisers rejected the move.
In a 2017 interview with Radio New Zealand, Hubbard discussed the criticism, saying: “If I try and take that weight on board it just makes the lifts harder…I am who I am.