All eyes are on weightlifting and Laurel Hubbard this Monday in Tokyo.
If she is the oldest weightlifter in the Japanese capital at 43, and the New Zealander also has medal chances, Laurel Hubbard will above all become, this Monday, the first transgender athlete to participate in the Olympics.
In the + 87 kg category, the athlete had to meet the criteria of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to be able to be present, which was not enough to silence criticism of his legitimacy.
The IOC's demands criticized
Formerly known as Gavin, Laurel Hubbard perfectly met the IOC's requirements to be able to compete in women. The New Zealand woman must have had a testosterone level of less than 10 nanos moles per liter of blood for a period of twelve consecutive months. Hubbard therefore does not have a "disproportionate competitive advantage" in the words of the International Olympic Committee. The possibility for transgender people to be present at the Olympics has been open since Athens in 2004, but Hubbard is the first to seize this opportunity.
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The 43-year-old weightlifter, who began her gender transition in 2013, has been confirmed as a female athlete after showing lower testosterone levels than authorized.
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A historic participation that makes a lot of talk.
“Laurel Hubbard is a woman and competes under the rules of her federation.
We must pay tribute to his courage and tenacity, ”said IOC Medical Director Richard Budgett.
The Olympic Committee remains strongly criticized for its criteria considered insufficient.
A regulation which forces, however, the Namibian Christine Mboma to be deprived of 400 m at the Games, because of a too high rate of testosterone.
“There has to be a happy medium to get what we need, and whatever that balance is, it will likely be criticized by some.
It will not be the ultimate solution, ”replied spokesperson Christian Klaue.
Participation criticized by its competitors
Asking himself questions about his identity from his teenage years Hubbard did not begin his transition until 2012. The athlete has already competed in men's competitions at a younger age without ever reaching an international level or even national. "I thought to myself that, maybe, if I tried to do something very manly, I was going to become it, but it did not turn out like that", explained Hubbard to the public radio station Radio New Zeland. .
Features that place the Kiwi athlete even more in the center of attention for weightlifters.
Tracey Lambrechs, for example, changed category not to face Hubbard: "By transitioning to such a late age, we retain the benefit of having had male testosterone levels for a very long time," said the New Zealand woman in Team columns.
“For example, no other potential medalist in Tokyo is in his 40s.
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"I will not be supported by everyone"
The participation of transgender people has been the subject of regular controversy in sport. Even female sports icon Martina Navratilova has expressed reservations about including these athletes who would hinder the development of sport among women: “I am happy to address a transgender person in any way they want. , but I wouldn't like to have to compete against her. It wouldn't be fair. "Words shared by Caitlyn Jenner, Olympic decathlon champion in 1976 who became a woman in 2015:" It's just not fair. "
Doubts that don't make the Australian tremble more than that: “All you can do is focus on the task at hand and if you keep doing that it will get you through it. I am aware that I will not be supported by everyone, but I hope that people can keep an open mind and maybe look at my performance in a larger context ”, explained the main concerned in 2017. Rendez- you for the story, this Monday from 12:50.
