Tokyo 2021: Laurel Hubbard unable to execute a clean lift at the Olympics

Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, has crashed out of the super heavyweight women’s final, failing to record a clean lift.

In one of the most controversial events of the Tokyo Games, dividing global opinion, transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, has crashed out of the super heavyweight women’s final.

New Zealander Hubbard, a competitive weightlifter as a man who transitioned at the age of 35 and is now competing in the women’s events, failed to make any of her three lifts in the snatch section.

The 43-year-old’s failure to record a score saw her out of the competition before the clean and jerk began.

She had started at a heavier weight – 120kg and 125kg – than most of the field but was unable to execute a clean lift.

Laurel Hubbard failed to make any of her three lifts. Picture: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Chinese sensation Li Wenwen, just 21 years of age, annihilated the competition, finishing with a combined score of 320.

Li lifted an Olympic record of 173 in her second lift in the clean and jerk then went back for a third lift, raising the record to 180kg.

Emily Campbell from Great Britain took silver with a combined score of 283, while Team USA’s Sarah Robles took bronze with 282.

The Australian weightlifter Charisma Amoe-Tarrant, 22, contesting her first Olympics, finished sixth with a combined score of 243.

Amoe-Tarrant, who has been battling a knee injury all year, said she was “happy, satisfied’’ with her performance.

“I could have done more without my injury. I did all I could,’’ she said.

Asked about Hubbard, she replied: “everyone has an opinion about it, I just stick to mine. I wish her the best.’’

Austrian competitor Sarah Fischer said she had wanted Hubbard to win a medal.

“It’s her life, I wanted her to win a medal and everyone would shut up about it.’’

Charisma Amoe-Tarran finished sixth. Picture: Mohd Rasfan/AFP)

Hubbard was given a round of applause by the small crowd of officials, teammates and journalists at the Tokyo International Forum after her third failed lift in the snatch.

She made a brief statement in the mixed zone after being bundled out of the competition, thanking the people of New Zealand for their “love and encouragement.’’

“From a sporting perspective I haven’t really hit the standards that I put on myself and perhaps the standards that my country has expected of me,’’ she said.

Hubbard also said the IOC had been “extraordinarily supportive.’’

“I think that they have reaffirmed their commitment to the principles that sport is something that all people around the world can do.’’

There had been widespread concern expressed that Hubbard was competing with an unfair advantage over other athletes because she had been through male puberty. Eight of the 10 competitors were aged in their 20s compared to Hubbard’s 43 years.

Her failure to figure in medals contention meant the IOC dodged a bullet by avoiding a situation where another competitor missed out on a medal to an athlete whose inclusion in the event is not universally accepted.

Reporters given guidelines for covering transgender athlete

Journalists covering transgender athlete Laurel Hubbard’s participation in the women’s +87 kilogram weightlifting competition have been given a 20-page set of guidelines on how they should report on transgender athletes.

The guidelines were distributed by the International Weightlifting Federation and prepared by three LGBT activist groups – GLAAD, Athlete Ally and Pride House Tokyo, and come amid controversy of Hubbard’s inclusion in the women’s event.

Hubbard, from New Zealand, competed as a man in junior weightlifting events, transitioned at the age of 35, and has won a place in the women’s super-heavyweight medal round at the Tokyo International Forum.

The guidelines distributed to journalists say that claims transgender athletes have an unfair advantage over others are “misinformation.’’

“For perspective, since 2004, there have been over 54,000 Olympians and Paralympians and not a single athlete has been out as transgender, until New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard qualified this year,’’ the guidelines state.

Laurel Hubbard is competing in the women’s +87 kilogram weightlifting competition. Picture: AFP Photos

It also lists the names of activist groups which it says have been campaigning against transgender inclusion urges reporters to give “extra scrutiny’’ to these groups.

“There is no evidence that transgender athletes have unfair advantages or that they are – or ever will dominate – sports,’’ it states.

“It is critical that media recognise and report that transgender people have always existed throughout history and across cultures; that policies have been in place to include them in sports, including at the Olympics since 2004, and that despite misinformation about

transgender athletes having an “unfair advantage’’ this is the first time any have qualified for the Games in the nearly 20 years since inclusion.’’

The guidelines give advice to the media including using a transgender person’s chosen name, using their current name and gender, using correct pronouns and avoiding focusing on medical issues.

It also lists terms to avoid, including “biological female/biological male. No one is born with a gender identity. Everyone is born a baby and their gender is assigned to them by doctors and family members based on physical sex characteristics that may not correspond to their gender identity as it develops over time.’’