Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard has won two silver medals at the world championships.
The New Zealand weightlifter finished second in the women’s 90kg-plus division snatch category in Anaheim, California on Wednesday.
She is the first New Zealand man or woman to win a medal at the world championships.
Her best successful lift in the snatch came in at 124kg, while she went on to record the fourth-best lift in the clean and jerk category with 151kg.
Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard has won two silver medals at the world championships
The New Zealand weightlifter finished second in the women’s 90kg-plus division snatch category in Anaheim, California on Wednesday
That gave her a combined total of 275kg, earning her another silver medal.
Hubbard had a shot at gold when attempting 127kg but she failed to lift the bar completely above her head, falling short of her personal best of 131kg set last year.
She matched her personal best in the clean and jerk.
Her final tally would have ranked her fifth in the open class at last year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
In November Hubbard became the first New Zealand transgender athlete to qualify for the Commonwealth Games, which will be held on the Gold Coast in April.
A former top male lifter, she has attracted international attention since she began competing as a woman.
In November Hubbard became the first New Zealand transgender athlete to qualify for the Commonwealth Games
Australian Weightlifting Federation chief executive Michael Keelan said Hubbard’s inclusion would create an ‘uneven playing field’ at next year’s Games.
‘We’re in a power sport which is normally related to masculine tendencies… where you’ve got that aggression, you’ve got the right hormones, then you can lift bigger weights,’ he said.
‘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.’
Hubbard had to show her testosterone levels were below a certain threshold for 12 months before she was able to compete for New Zealand.