Australia has asked for New Zealander transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard to be banned from the Commonwealth Games
Australia has asked for a transgender weightlifter to be banned from the Commonwealth Games, saying she has an unfair advantage over her rivals.
New Zealander Laurel Hubbard, 39, was granted permission to compete in this year’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games for the women’s weightlifting event.
Since then Michael Keelan, the CEO of the Australian Weightlifting Federation, has written a letter disputing the decision to let Hubbard compete.
Australia has asked for New Zealander transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard to be banned from the Commonwealth Games, saying she has an unfair advantage over her rivals
According to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Keelan wrote there was a significant disadvantage to female weightlifters.
‘It is our strong view that weightlifting has always been a gender-specific sport, male and female, not a competition among individuals of various levels of testosterone,’ he wrote.
‘In our respectful view, the current criteria and its application has the potential to devalue women’s weightlifting and discourage female-born athletes from pursuing the sport at the elite level in the future.’
‘It is our strong view that weightlifting has always been a gender-specific sport, male and female, not a competition among individuals of various levels of testosterone,’ said Michael Keelan the CEO of the Australian Weightlifting Federation
It has been determined that Hubbard met the international guidelines for the sport and had been undergoing at least 12 months of hormone therapy.
She also recorded low levels of testosterone in her tests. The 39-year-old began her transition in 2014.
Hubbard caused outrage after she won a silver and a gold last year in both the world championships and an international event in Melbourne.
It has been determined Laurel Hubbard met the international guidelines for the sport and had been undergoing at least 12 months of hormone therapy
Ms Hubbard caused outrage after she won a silver and a gold last year in both the world championships and an international event in Melbourne