pported the transgender community, the principle of inclusion should not be "at the expense of others".
"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 said in May. "Life-changing opportunities are missed for some athletes – medals and Olympic qualifications – and we are powerless."…
Laurel Hubbard is among the top ranked athletes in the world in her category.
She has a good chance at winning a medal, as several others won't compete due to rules by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) that that there should be only one lifter per category from each country.
Hubbard's participation in previous competitions had sparked controversy in the past.
In 2019 she won a gold medal at the Pacific Games in Samoa, beating an athlete from the host nation, which triggered outrage.
And here is Hubbard on the podium at the time, collecting his gold:
The women at silver and bronze, as you can see, don't look too pleased. Understandably. They've been robbed of their rightful winning places – after all their training and their hard work and their dreams – by a man.
Ideally the other competitors would withdraw in protest against an unfair competition – "we don't compete against men" – but that's expecting too much of a sacrifice from the women athletes. It's not their fault they find themselves in this ridiculous situation, which anyone with any awareness at all can see is a nonsense.
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