Foreign Affairs

Trans Weightlifter Destroys Female Competitors Again

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A New Zealand transgender weightlifter destroyed his female competition and broke new records in his division Saturday.

Laurel Hubbard, a man who transitioned to a woman, established new records in the female division during the World Masters Games, reports the Washington Times.

Hubbard snatched 289 lbs. and achieved 328 lbs. in the clean and jerk in a combined total of 617 lbs. He beat his own previous records from last year, but cannot claim these new records under the World Masters Games standards.

Simon Kent, an Olympic Weightlifting New Zealand manager, praised Hubbard for beating out all the women.

“As an organisation, we’re tremendously proud of what Laurel’s doing. She’s tremendously courageous to do what she’s doing,” Kent told the New Zealand Herald.

Hubbard came under fire last month when he beat out his female competitors at the Australian International competition. During the competition, he lifted  591 pounds, while the runner-up lifted 572 pounds. (RELATED:  Transgender Weightlifter Wins Women’s Competition)

Some said Hubbard, as a biological male, had an unfair advantage over the other women, while his competitors seemed displeased with his triumph.

“We all deserve to be on an even playing field,” Deborah Acason, from the Australian Weightlifting Federation, told 1News Now. “It’s difficult when you believe that you’re not. If it’s not even, why are we doing the sport?”

The Olympic Weightlifting New Zealand adheres to the policy created by the International Olympic Committee (ICE). The ICE only recognizes two genders, male and female. Therefore transgender men are seen as men and transgender woman are considered women.

Transgender women must prove that their testosterone has been below 10 (nanomoles per litre) for at least a year before they compete.

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