Transgender Weightlifter Wins International Women's Competition, Sets National Record

This article originally appeared onOutsportsNew Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard has won an international powerlifting competition, raising questions about her participation and the new International Olympic Committee policy on transgender athletes.Hubbard won the over-90kg division at the Australian International in Melbourne, lifting a combined total of 268kg, according to the New Zealand Herald. In doing so she set new national records in the snatch and clean and jerk, according to 1 News Now.Before her transition, Hubbard competed in powerlifting as a man. Now a woman, she wants to continue to compete as her gender.All of this has riled up some folks who see it as uneven playing fields. Garry Marshall, the president of Olympic Weightlifting New Zealand, said his governing body is simply applying the rules set forth by the IOC. Those rules allow Hubbard to compete as a woman after undergoing certain transitional steps.With Hubbards eyes on bigger prizes, and the next Summer Olympic Games now three years away, this issue isnt going away anytime soon.For more from OutSports, check out these stories:Nico Hines offers an academic apology for outing Olympians, seven months too lateUFC champ Amanda Nunes embraces being a gay role modelTrans athlete approved to compete in USA Volleyball events -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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