According to a BBC article, Belgian weightlifter Anna Vanbelingen said that allowing Hubbard to compete in the Tokyo Olympics 2021 would be unfair to women and “like a nasty joke.”
Laurel Hubbard, a weightlifter from New Zealand, has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. She has qualified for the Olympic Games for the first time as a transgender (male to a female) athlete. Hubbard is one of five weightlifters nominated to New Zealand’s Olympic team on Monday.
At the age of 43, Laurel Hubbard will also be the oldest Olympic weightlifter. On August 2, she will compete in the women’s 87 kg and up to weight category. Hubbard has earned a gold medal in the 2019 Pacific Regional Games in Samoa and a silver medal at the 2017 World Championships. She competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games but suffered a serious injury. This has an impact on his career as well.
‘I am grateful for the support I have gotten from the people of New Zealand,’ Laurel Hubbard said in a statement. When I shattered my hand three years ago during the Commonwealth Games, it was speculated that my career would be ended. Your love, encouragement, and support helped me to emerge from the shadows.
Hubbard, who is 35 years old, decided to alter his gender eight years ago. They’ve since met all of the conditions for fair competition for trans athletes set forth by the International Olympic Committee.
Transitioning from male to female athletes are permitted to compete in the women’s division, according to IOC rules. However, some argue that transgender individuals competing in the Olympics’ women’s section are still unfair to female athletes.
According to a BBC story, Belgian weightlifter Anna Vanbelingen said that allowing Hubbard to compete in the Tokyo Olympics 2021 would be unfair to women and “like a nasty joke.”
In Hubbard’s weight category, Anna Vanbelingen also qualified for the Olympics. She noted, however, that she supports the transgender community wholeheartedly, but that inclusion should not come at the expense of others.