Tokyo 2020: First Transgender Weightlifter Crashes Out Of Olympics After 3 Failed Attempts
- New Zealand's transgender weightlifter Lauren Hubbard did not make it beyond the group stages of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
- The third oldest athlete at the Olympic weightlifting event failed in all of her three attempts in the snatch event
- The 43-year-old became the first the first openly transgender athlete to participate in the history of the Olympics
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Transgender weightlifter Lauren Hubbard did not qualify in the women's 87kg category at the Tokyo 2020 Games, Sport Bible.
Hubbard's attempts at the snatch event
The New Zealander who made history in becoming the first openly transgender athlete to participate in the Olympics was registered as 'DNF' after three failed attempts in Group A.
Source: UGC
The 43-year-old did not successfully lift any weight in her category as she settled for the last position in the ten-athlete group.
During her third attempt, the bar went over her head falling behind as she stood up to thank the crowd for the encouragement.
The third oldest athlete in Olympic's weightlifting history was smiling and did a heart gesture with her hands before mouthing "Thank You" to the camera.
Hubbard's history as a male competitor
Hubbard competed as a male weightlifter in the men's junior competition back in 1998 and set a national record with snatch 135 kg, 170 kg, and a total of 300kg.
In 2012, she went under hormone therapy and was allowed to compete in the women's category after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) changing their rules in 2015.
The rules stated that transgender athletes are allowed to compete as women, as long as their testosterone levels remain below a certain threshold.
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Meanwhile, Briefly News reported former Olympian Roland Schoeman says that he would like to be the Minister of Sport after a debate was started online about the matter.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said that he would "consider" reshuffling Cabinet and this has got people talking on social media.
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Source: Briefly News
Maryn Blignaut (Human-Interest HOD) Maryn Blignaut is the Human Interest manager and feature writer. She holds a BA degree in Communication Science, which she obtained from the University of South Africa in 2016. She joined the Briefly - South African News team shortly after graduating and has over six years of experience in the journalism field. Maryn passed the AFP Digital Investigation Techniques course (Google News Initiative), as well as a set of trainings for journalists by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at: maryn.blignaut@briefly.co.za
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
