New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, who is the first transgender athlete to ever compete at the Olympics, has been eliminated early in the tournament for women over 87 kilograms. On three occasions, she failed to raise the barbell over her head correctly.
In advance there was a lot of criticism about the participation of 41-year-old Hubbard. She would have an unfair sporting advantage because of her biological past as a man. In practice this turned out to be not too bad, because after ten minutes her tournament was over. She lost balance on her first attempt with a weight of 120 kilograms, after which her second attempt with 125 kilograms was declared invalid by the jury. Her third attempt went the same way as the first, according to the AP news agency.
Hubbard was tipped in advance as a favorite for a podium spot. Previously, she won silver at the World Cup in 2017 and was the best at the Oceania Championship.
