In what is being described as startling news across the board, the International Olympic Committee has given New Zealand’s trans athlete Laurel Hubbard full approval to compete in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
The famous weightlifter will now reportedly be the first-ever trans athlete to compete in such a large-scale international event, as reported by news outlets from the country.
The star weightlifter made record-breaking history in the month of June when she announced her decision regarding her selection for the Olympic games. And that’s where she will reportedly be competing in the super-heavyweight category which comprises 87 plus kg.
Moreover, the athlete who hails from New Zealand described herself as being both humble as well as grateful to be amongst those selected. However, it wouldn’t be wrong to mention how her decision was met with great controversy as well as backlash from around the globe.
Many people argued that her inclusion was certainly unfair when taking into consideration other female athletes. But nevertheless, it appears that the International Olympic Committee has no doubts or worries over her inclusion which is why they gave her the green light in the first place.
Due to so much controversy and speculation, many people were waiting for the final verdict by the IOC which was released today. And that is where the committee confirmed how it stood by New Zealand’s decision, explaining how she had the free will to compete when taking the current rules and regulations into consideration.
In a recent press conference, the President of the IOC mentioned how rules currently in place regarding the qualification of athletes were the same and cannot be changed. Moreover, he also spoke about guidelines that were in place regarding trans athletes and which Hubbard met, fair and square.
For this reason, she will be allowed to compete with all rules being applied as per standard protocol.