New Zealand weightlifter to be first transgender athlete at Olympics

(CNN) – New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard will be the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympic Games, after being selected for the national team on Monday.

She will compete in the 87-kilogram women’s category, according to a statement issued by the New Zealand Olympic Committee that also announced the other four members of the weightlifting team.

The 43-year-old Hubbard qualified for the Tokyo Games in May, after a rule change, effectively guaranteeing him a spot in the super heavyweight category, Reuters reported at the time. This will be his first time at the Olympics, a remarkable comeback after a major injury in 2018.

“I am grateful and honored for the kindness and support that so many New Zealanders have shown me,” Hubbard said in the statement.

“When I broke my arm at the Commonwealth Games three years ago, I was informed that my sports career had probably come to an end. But their support, their encouragement and their aroha carried me through the darkness, “he said, using the indigenous Maori word for” love. “

Weightlifting has been a focus of an ongoing heated debate about transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. Dozens of US states are considering legislation that would prevent transgender women and girls participate in the female categories, and several of them have already enacted sports bans this year.

Hubbard’s participation in the women’s categories has generated controversy before: In 2018, the Australian weightlifting federation tried to prevent her from competing in the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, but the organizers rejected the move.

And in May, after Hubbard successfully qualified, Belgian weightlifter Anna Vanbellinghen told an Olympics news website that the situation was “unfair” and “like a joke in bad taste.”

Hubbard participated in men’s weightlifting competitions before transitioning in 2013. She has been eligible to compete in the Olympics since 2015, when the International Olympic Committee issued new guidelines that allow any transgender athlete to compete as a woman provided their levels of testosterone are below 10 nanomoles per liter for at least 12 months before your first competition, according to Reuters.

She has been confirmed eligible for the Olympics this year after meeting the criteria of the International Weightlifting Federation, the International Olympic Committee and the New Zealand Olympic Committee, the committee’s statement said Monday.

“We recognize that gender identity in sport is a very sensitive and complex issue that requires a balance between human rights and fairness on the playing field,” said Kereyn Smith, CEO of the New Zealand Olympic Committee, in the statement. .

“As a New Zealand team, we have a strong culture of manaaki and inclusion and respect for all,” said Smith. “We are committed to supporting all eligible New Zealand athletes and ensuring their physical and mental well-being, along with their high-performance needs, as they prepare for and compete in the Olympics.”