Laurel Hubbard, who was born male, is once again on top of the weightlifting world when she/he first in he snatch-lift and combined categories in the women’s division.
Hubbard took home two gold medals and a silver medal for New Zealand at the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa.
Gavin Hubbard actually competed in the male weightlifting division until 2012 where he began to transition to female.
Hubbard became a household name in 2017 after breaking several records in the female division of the World Masters Games.
It was only until 2018 when a biological female would finally place first in the Commonwealth Games after Hubbard suffered a gruesome elbow injury.
Not everybody is happy about Hubbard’s success in the Women’s division.
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Samoa 2019 chairman Loau Solamalemalo Keneti Sio was quoted as saying Hubbard’s success was “not fair to women weightlifters.”
“There is nothing we can do about it,” Loau said.
“We all know that it is not fair to the women lifters but that is a reality we face in the world of sports.
“The rules have changed and we cannot deviate from these rules. The IOC and IWF [International Weightlifting Federation] do not discriminate against transgender athletes and while this may be hard to accept, we must learn to adapt to these rules because it will not change for anyone.”
