Hubbard’s return after sex-change surgery has split the sporting community. (Source: PTI)
For 35 years, Laurel Hubbard lived as a man. Gavin, as she was known, was one of New Zealand’s top weightlifters, shattering heavyweight records as a junior at the national and continental level. In the mid aughts, though, Hubbard vanished from the scene and after spending close to a decade away from the public glare, she resurfaced five years ago— transitioned as a woman, name changed to Laurel.
On Monday, the 40-year-old was to make her first appearance in front of a packed stadium since declaring her sex change. And Hubbard wasn’t sure if she’d be accepted. Described by New Zealand’s high performance director Simon Kent as an ‘introvert’, she has been one of the most reclusive athletes at the Games. Hubbard slipped into Gold Coast without many people noticing—separate from rest of the New Zealand contingent—stayed off social media and avoided the prying reporters.
The suspense only heightened the anticipation. The weightlifting arena has generally drawn massive crowds over the last five days but there was a different buzz on Monday. Thousands flocked in anticipating a historic gold—this, after all, would be the first known case of a transgender athlete competing at a major multi-discipline event. She, though, was anxious. But she couldn’t duck anymore.
Hubbard was born as Gavin to Dick Hubbard, Auckland’s former mayor and a cereal magnate. At 20, before the gender transition, Hubbard set New Zealand’s junior record in the 105+ category with a total lift of 300kg. “He was a very good lifter,” Samoa coach Jeremy Wallwork says. “I saw him at the Oceania Championships in 2004 where I think he won a gold medal. He was also the New Zealand record holder at that time.”
Months later, Laurel left weightlifting and became a recluse, as she ‘discovered herself’. “Laurel first competed as Gavin Hubbard in the 1990s as a junior athlete,” Kent says. “She then left weightlifting for just over ten years for going through the transition and then coming back as Laurel. It’s 15 years ago that she last competed. She still loves weightlifting. We just respect Laurel for what she is doing right now.”
The International Weightlifting Federation and International Olympic Committee say they have followed their sex reassignment and hyperandrogenism guidelines in giving her the permission to compete. According to those rules, the athlete who transition from male to female ‘must demonstrate that her total testosterone level in serum has been below 10 nanomoles per litre for at least 12 months prior to her first competition.’
She is also made to ‘declare her gender identity is female. The declaration cannot be changed, for sporting purposes, for a minimum of four years.’ Before she was reinstated, Laurel was tested every month for two years. The process was complete, Kent says, only when the results returned satisfactory. “She met those requirements and that’s how we came to making our decision,” Kent says.
Last year, she was included in the World Championship squad in Anaheim, USA. She won a silver medal in her first tournament as a woman.
The tallest, heaviest
Laurel stands at six foot and weighs 130kg, She is the tallest and heaviest athlete in the 90+kg category, making her a favourite to win the gold medal. She lifted 120kg in her first attempt in the snatch segment, which propelled her to the first place. The second-placed lifter, Samoa’s Feagaiga Stowers was 7kg behind her. Hubbard then tried to lift 127kg, a failed attempt before trying to set a Games record by lifting 132kg in her last chance. Instead, she twisted her elbow. It cut short her comeback as she was ruled out of the clean and jerk segment. Her fears, however, of a hostile reception were unfounded. “The crowd was absolutely magnificent. I feel like there was a big embrace,” Hubbard said, holding back her tears. “I wanted to give them something that reflected the best I could do. My only regret today is I was unable to do that. Real credit to the Australian people and the whole of sporting community.”
But not everyone was pleased. Hubbard’s return has split the sporting community and triggered a debate about ‘fairness’. Wallwork, the Samoan coach, called the decision to let her compete in the women’s category ‘unfair’ on the other weightlifters. Even the Australian weightlifting team had opposed her entry. In fact, they wrote to the CWG Federation, demanding that she should be banned from the Games. Last year at the world championship, even the USA had protested her presence.
Wallwork says Hubbard has the ‘strength of a male’, which puts other lifters at a disadvantage. “He was a male champion for many years. The strength stays with you,” Wallwork says. “We were not happy that she is allowed to compete. I am only speaking from other women’s point of view. They should get a fair deal.”
Wallwork says they will write to the IOC to block her entry from the Tokyo Olympics. “We hope to get support from other nations. This is about being fair to others,” he says.
Kent understands the apprehensions. “(But) It’s such a new conversation that I still don’t have all the answers. All I know is that at this moment in time, there is a set of regulation that allow Laurel to compete. And she is just massively passionate about the sport. There’s no other agenda,” he says. Hubbard, meanwhile, says she hasn’t yet decided if she will compete at Tokyo. She is just happy to compete. “You’ve got to be true to yourself,” she says. “In this case, that’s what I’ve done.”