Hubbard finds silver lining
Transgender lifter claims two medals but faces backlash at weightlifting world champs
Laurel Hubbard has forged a place in the New Zealand sports history books after winning twin silver medals at the weightlifting world championships yesterday. But she also had to contend with unhappy rivals.
Transgender athlete Hubbard was runner-up in the snatch category in the women’s 90kg-plus division at in Anaheim, California and added silver in the overall contest.
She is the first Kiwi to win a medal at the world championships.
Her final tally would have ranked her fifth in the open class at last year’s Rio Olympics.
However, Hubbard declined to discuss her achievement and refused to attend media conferences.
If you’ve been a male and you’ve lifted certain weights, then you suddenly transition to a female, psychologically you know you’ve lifted those weights before. AWF chief executive Michael Keelan
“She stayed away because she was embarrassed, probably,” said her coach Tim Swords.
A former top male lifter, Hubbard has attracted international headlines and conjecture since making the decision to compete as a woman, something she is entitled to do under International Weightlifting Federa- tion and International Olympic Committee rules. Hubbard complies with regulations on transgender athletes laid down by the IOC and IWF but that didn’t stop some of her rivals claiming she has an unfair advantage.
“There was no controversy between the lifters about her presence here, but there was between some of the coaching staffs . . . nobody wanted her to win,” Swords said.
Mohamed Hosnytaha, coach of bronze medallist Shaimaa Khalaf, and of Egypt’s national team, said: “We didn’t agree with it, with somebody who was a man for so long, who has different hormones, different feelings.”
Hubbard had to demonstrate her testosterone levels were below a certain threshold for 12 months before representing New Zealand.
Her best successful lift in the snatch came at 124kg. She went on to record the fourth-best lift in the clean and jerk category with 151kg. That gave her a combined total of 275kg, the second best overall score.
Her best snatch weight was beaten only by American Olympic bronze medallist Sarah Robles, who was successful at 126kg.
Hubbard had a shot at gold when attempting 127kg but she failed to lift the bar completely above her head, expressing disappointment at falling short of her personal best 131kg set last year.
However, she matched her personal best in the clean and jerk, leaving her with a total that was only bettered by Robles’ 284kg. Khalaf was third with 268kg.