A trans athlete shocked the sporting world when it was announced that she will go to the Tokyo Olympics.
Laurel Hubbard will become the first transgender athlete to compete at the Olympic level after she managed to pass all the required tests.
However, fellow weightlifter Anna Vanbellinghen said the inclusion of trans athletes shouldn’t come ‘at the expense of others.’
Speaking to Inside The Games, the Belgian competitor said her statement is simply about fairness and not meant to be transphobic.
“First off, I would like to stress that I fully support the transgender community, and that what I’m about to say doesn’t come from a place of rejection of this athlete’s identity,” she explained.
“However, anyone that has trained weightlifting at a high level knows this to be true in their bones: this particular situation is unfair to the sport and to the athletes.”
She continued: “I understand that for sports authorities nothing is as simple as following your common sense and that there are a lot of impracticalities when studying such a rare phenomenon, but for athletes, the whole thing feels like a bad joke.”
The International Olympic Committee has granted Hubbard the green signal to qualify for the women’s superheavyweight category for weightlifting.
Hubbard previously competed in men’s competitions before his transition in 2013.
While opponents of the inclusion of transgender athletes in sports argue that there’s a biological advantage when transitioning from male to female, trans athletes have explained hormone replacement decreased their natural athletic abilities and caused them to lose stamina and muscle mass.
Hubbard’s inclusion in the Olympic Games will serve as a landmark moment.
She is currently ranked fourth overall out of the 14 other weightlifters in the super heavyweight glass, giving her a high chance of leaving Tokyo with a medal wrapped around her neck.
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