Transgender lifter Laurel Hubbard crumples under the strain

Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard was forced to withdraw from her event through injury.

Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard grimaces as she hyperextends her elbow. Picture: Getty Images

Laurel Hubbard closes her eyes, whispers encouragement to herself, breathes deeply, walks to the stage, hears the warm applause, raises an acknowledging hand, mouths a quiet “thank you” and then crouches to grip the bar. She tells herself rather loudly: “You’ve got this.”

The artist formerly known as Gavin flings 120kg of tin above her head, a Commonwealth record if she gets it up there, hyperextends her elbow and grimaces in pain. Her eyes grow wide with shock, panic. She drops the bar behind her, throws her hands in the air like a diva having a bit of a tanty and starts walking off. She stops to salute again a crowd she’s feared may have jeered and hissed.

New Zealand’s transgender weightlifter calls for medical treatment. She tentatively bends her arm as if she can’t believe it’s going to end like this. She receives the bad news. Her elbow is stuffed. Her head falls to her chest. She grins sheepishly and her cheeks turn red. She withdraws from the Commonwealth Games.

If there’s anything more dramatic than the appearance of Hubbard in the +90kg division of the women’s weightlifting event, it’s the manner of her departure.

It’s a funny old game, transgender weightlifting — the gold medal favourite has failed to get a place on the podium. I feel enormously sorry for her. She’s been extremely likeable. She’s known about the sneers from her peers but she’s given a thumbs up to the TV cameras. She’s smiled constantly. She’s put on a brave yet gentle face despite the palpable self-consciousness coming from her 142kg frame. She’s constantly stared at her large pink shoes.

She’s been buoyed by the respect and acceptance from the grandstands. Asked about the crowd on her way out the door, she beams: “The Australian crowd was magnificent. It felt like just a big embrace. They really made me try to lift my best. I gave it everything and regret I wasn’t able to make the lift today.

“The Commonwealth Games here are a model for what sport can and should be. It’s an incredible environment and an amazing atmosphere. Without any doubt, they have lived up to the mantra of humanity, equality and decency. It would be untrue to say the thought never crossed my mind (of a hostile reception). No indication of that at all today. They were absolutely fantastic. It’s a credit to the Australian people and the broader sporting community.”

She’s known a whole lot of people have wanted her to fail. She’s seemed both fragile and bold in the same breaths. Rather than joining the outpouring of hate being directed at her on social media — karma’s a bitch, Gavin! — the sight of Hubbard slumped in her seat in abject disappointment has been a powerful one.

“It’s obviously a difficult time,” she says. “The one thing I’m happiest about is that I tried to reach for my best performance. This happens sometimes, but that’s the sport. We can always go back over these things in our heads but the truth is unless we try to be the best person we can be, the best athlete, then really we are not being true to sport. I have no regrets.

“Medals are only a measure of performance. I gave it everything I had and I can sleep well knowing that. You have to be true to yourself and I hope in this case, that is what I have done.”

Hubbard’s father is Dick Hubbard, the former mayor of Auckland and founder of Hubbard Foods. She’s previously told NZ media that it’s demeaning to suggest she has a fundamental biological advantage over her opponents — demeaning to her opponents.

“I don’t believe there is any fundamental difference between me and the other athletes, and to suggest there is is slightly demeaning to them,” she said.

Hubbard’s withdrawal threw the women’s superheavyweight division wide open. Gold went to Samoa’s Feagaiga Stowers, whose coach had been so critical of the involvement of the artist formerly known as Gavin. Australia’s Deborah Acason finished fourth.

In the 90kg class, Acason’s teammate Kaity Fassina grabbed the silver medal behind Fiji’s Eileen Cikamatana.

The 27-year-old Tasmanian led the field at the halfway point following a top snatch of 104kg, after Cikamatana twice failed at 107kg. But Cikamatana trumped Fassina’s 128kg in her first lift to knock the Aussie out of contention.