Transgender Olympian Hubbard Hailed As Debate Rages

Tokyo, Aug 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2021 ) :New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard has been hailed as a transgender pioneer after her short-lived Olympic debut but Games chiefs continue to wrestle with the thorny issues raised by her historic appearance.

Hubbard's much-anticipated medal bid in the +87kg category ended in anti-climatic fashion at the Tokyo International Forum on Monday when she was eliminated after botching her opening three lifts.

The 43-year-old later admitted she was "overwhelmed" during her moment in the spotlight, which was described by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the first appearance by an openly transgender woman at an Olympics.

"Competing at this level unlocks a certain amount of adrenalin and I think I might have just slightly overcooked it," she told TVNZ.

Trans advocates said her presence on sport's biggest stage, however brief, still created history and paved the way for more athletes who do not fit into a binary male-female framework.

"Congratulations to Laurel Hubbard. She may not have won a medal but just qualifying for the Olympics is an incredible achievement," British trans author and academic Ruth Pearce tweeted.

"As an out trans athlete competing under intense and unfair scrutiny, she has helped to make history." Prominent Australian activist Kirsti Miller said Hubbard's appearance meant "the tide has turned" in favour of inclusion in sport.

"The IOC have adopted a baseline policy that sporting competition is a human right for all regardless of how we are born or who we are," she said.

However, debate still rages about the inclusion of trans athletes in women's sport, with the IOC set to release new guidelines on the issues after the Tokyo Games are completed.