New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has said Laurel Hubbard “simply followed the rules” to qualify for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard (43) will become the first transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics after being selected for the New Zealand women’s team in the super-heavyweight 87+kg category.
Whilst there has been widespread condemnation of the selection, New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern insisted the “alternative is to have someone who followed the rules but then is denied the ability to participate.”
“Parties here have simply followed the rules. That’s the case for Laurel but also the team in New Zealand – they have followed the rules,” Ardern told a Wellington press conference.
“The alternative is to have someone who followed the rules but then is denied the ability to participate.
“So, ultimately, I leave it to those bodies and that’s the decision they have made and it’s in keeping with the standard that has been set globally.”
The International Olympic Committee decided in 2015 that transgender athletes could qualify if their testosterone levels are low enough, whilst Hubbard is said to have transitioned in 2013.
The online reaction to Hubbard’s inclusion has been largely unsupportive, as social media users grapple with the enormity of the news for women’s sports.
Here's Kuinini ‘Nini’ Manumua, the woman who was displaced by Laurel Hubbard. She’s 21, and it would have been her first Olympics. The average age of female weightlifting competitors is 24. This means this could well be Nini's ONLY chance to be an Olympian.
This is outrageous 1/ pic.twitter.com/Y5Opk5nvAb— woman444🟥 (@woman4444) June 21, 2021
To all the people talking about a transgender athlete at the Olympics:
We are NOT "biological women" or "cis women" or "women born as female".
We are NOT a subset of all the types of women.
We are NOT the "vagina variant" of women.
We are simply WOMEN. https://t.co/KvQFvFFx0o
— Julia Hartley-Brewer (@JuliaHB1) June 21, 2021
TIL gender dysphoria was part of why Laurel Hubbard started lifting originally. She felt pressure to be more masculine even though that didn’t fit for her and hoped doing an ostensibly ‘masculine’ sport would help. She’s very brave and we should be proud to have her represent us.
— Dr Luke Fitzmaurice-Brown (@FitzmauriceLuke) June 22, 2021
We have men &women’s separate competition 4a BIG reason, biology in sport matters. Separate categories give females equal opportunities of sporting success, the average age of a female Olympic weight lifter is 23. Laurel Hubbard is 43. 30% unfair advantage! Sex not gender 4Sport https://t.co/CN8bdniKrq
— Sharron Davies MBE (@sharrond62) June 21, 2021
No offence to Laurel Hubbard or the trans-community but this makes me angry every time it comes up.
NZ have so many sporting achievements to be proud of but this tarnishes our reputation BIG TIME 👎🏽https://t.co/dz6lHgbdja
— Daniel Leo (@danleo82) June 21, 2021
https://twitter.com/sarahditum/status/1407031264239132673
Laurel Hubbard competed as a man until 2013, with undistinguished results. Then he had an idea!
Team New Zealand sparks outrage after picking transgender woman weightlifter to compete at Olympics https://t.co/Oj9D4buGyS
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) June 22, 2021
https://twitter.com/anonacademic_uk/status/1406860733997015043