Female Olympic weightlifters are up in arms after it was announced that a 43-year-old man pretending to be a "woman" will be competing against them at the Games this summer.
Laurel Hubbard of New Zealand "self-identifies" as a trans "woman," and this is enough to qualify "her" to compete against actual women with smaller bone structures and less muscle mass.
"I'm quite disappointed for the female athlete who will lose out on that spot," said Tracey Lambrechs, a former Olympic weightlifter who won a bronze medal for New Zealand in 2018.
"We're all about equality for women in sport, but right now that equality is being taken away from us," she added.
Hubbard, whose first name used to be Gavin, has yet to be officially placed in the Kiwi line-up for Japan due to a complicated rule change. However, thanks to the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) and other factors, it is a guarantee that "she" will make it once the final squad is announced next month.
"I've had female weightlifters come up to me and say, 'What do we do? This isn't fair. What do we do?' Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do because every time we voice it, we get told to be quiet," Lambrechs added.
It's easy to "win" when you play for the other team
Simon Kent, New Zealand's Olympic weightlifting coach, revealed that Hubbard has already met the criteria for participation on the women's team.
"The rules are in place," he explained to the media. "That's the playing field we're playing in, so that's how we're going to move forward."
Hubbard lived as a male for 35 years before "transitioning" to "female" in 2012. Several years later, "she" began winning competitions against actual females due to "her" male anatomy.
In 2017, Hubbard made a splash by winning two silver medals in a women's world championship. Two years later, Hubbard took home two gold medals and a silver medal in the women's competition at the Pacific Games in Samoa.
None of this would have been possible had the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not changed its rules in 2015 to allow transgender "women" to compete against real women, just so long as their testosterone levels are below 10 nanomoles per liter for at least 12 months prior to their first competition.
Scientists, however, say these rules are unfair. Once a person has already gone through puberty as their true biological sex, "transitioning" does nothing to level the playing field in terms of physical strength and hormone levels.
Australia's weightlifting federation tried to block Hubbard from competing in the 2018 Commonwealth Games based on this scientific fact, but the group's organizers rejected the petition. Objections made by rival weightlifters and coaches were likewise rejected.
Ironically, Hubbard ended up suffering a ruptured elbow ligament during that event while attempting to lift 291 pounds. "She" ended up finishing in fifth place behind four real women.
"The only way for that 43-year-old fat man to compete is for him to pretend to be a woman. What a ridiculous farce," wrote one commenter at Gutsmack.
"The loudest protest would be for every female weightlifter to not compete," wrote another. "Make that 'sport' a farce at the Olympics. Perhaps if there are any left, a strong woman in the leftist press will finally speak out and do something."
Many others offered similar sentiments, noting that the only way to put a stop to this once and for all is for real women to refuse to compete against fake women.
More related news about how women are being pushed out of their sports by gender-dysphoric men can be found at Gender.news.
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