“All you can do is focus on the task at hand and if you keep doing that it will get you through,” Hubbard told Stuff. In 2017, she explained her approach to the criticism she faces on sporting and moral grounds to the New Zealand news website Stuff. Hubbard, whose father is a wealthy cereal manufacturer who became mayor of New Zealand’s largest city, seldom grants media interviews. “We are committed to supporting all eligible New Zealand athletes and ensuring their mental and physical wellbeing, along with their high-performance needs, while preparing for and competing at the Olympic Games are met.” “As the New Zealand team, we have a strong culture of manaaki (hospitality) and inclusion and respect for all. “We acknowledge that gender identity in sport is a highly sensitive and complex issue requiring a balance between human rights and fairness on the field of play,” Smith said. Similar sentiments have been expressed by other athletes and weightlifting officials, who claim Hubbard has a natural advantage in terms of physiology and strength.īut New Zealand Olympic Committee chief executive Kereyn Smith said it’s clear Hubbard has met all the criteria to compete in Tokyo.
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Of course, this debate is taking place in a broader context of discrimination against transgender people and that is why the question is never free of ideology.” “Life-changing opportunities are missed for some athletes - medals and Olympic qualifications - and we are powerless. “However, anyone that has trained weightlifting at a high level knows this to be true in their bones: This particular situation is unfair to the sport and to the athletes.
“I am aware that defining a legal frame for transgender participation in sports is very difficult since there is an infinite variety of situations and that reaching an entirely satisfactory solution, from either side of the debate, is probably impossible,” Vanbellinghen has said. The determining criteria - a maximum reading of 10 nanomoles per liter of testosterone - is as least five times more than a biological woman.īelgium’s Anna Vanbellinghen, who will likely compete against Hubbard, said the New Zealander’s presence would be “like a bad joke” for women competitors. Yet some within the weightlifting community argue the policy does not guarantee fair competition. The IOC policy also states: “the overriding sporting objective is and remains the guarantee of fair competition.” The athlete must also demonstrate that her total testosterone level is below a specific measurement for at least 12 months prior to her first competition. The IOC policy specifies conditions under which those who transition from male to female are eligible to compete in the female category.Īmong them is that the athlete has declared that her gender identity is female and that the declaration cannot be changed, for sporting purposes, for a minimum of four years. She has since met all of the requirements of the International Olympic Committee’s regulations for trans athletes and fair competition. Hubbard transitioned eight years ago at the age of 35. She has faced anger, scorn and ridicule, and has been directly criticized by some opponents.Ĭompeting as Gavin Hubbard, her birth name, Hubbard set national records in junior competition and had a best, combined snatch and clean and jerk total of 300 kilograms (661 pounds). The additional burden Hubbard has had to carry is that her efforts have made her a flashpoint in the debate around the fairness of trans athletes competing in women’s events. The mana of the silver fern comes from all of you and I will wear it with pride.” “The last eighteen months has shown us all that there is strength in kinship, in community, and in working together towards a common purpose. But your support, your encouragement, and your aroha (love) carried me through the darkness. “When I broke my arm at the Commonwealth Games three years ago, I was advised that my sporting career had likely reached its end. “I am grateful and humbled by the kindness and support that has been given to me by so many New Zealanders,” Hubbard said in a statement.