Female Athletes Told To “Be Quiet” Regarding Transgender Weightlifter

Sports

Former New Zealand Olympic weightlifter Tracey Lambrechs claims female athletes are being told to “be quiet” when complaining about the fairness of the inclusion of trans weightlifter Laurel Hubbard in the women’s competition. Hubbard is set to become the first transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics later this year in Tokyo. This follows the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) modifying qualifying requirements on Wednesday. Hubbard still has to meet performance and fitness requirements to qualify for New Zealand’s team. However, the fact she is being considered over biological women has raised issues for athletes. “I’m quite disappointed, quite disappointed for the female athlete who will lose out on that spot,” says Lambrechs to TVNZ. Lambrechs won a bronze medal for New Zealand at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She goes on to say,

“We’re all about equality for women in sport but right now that equality is being taken away from us. I’ve had female weightlifters come up to me and say, ‘what do we do? This isn’t fair, what do we do?’. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do because every time we voice it we get told to be quiet.”

Biological women fall in the social justice hierarchy, to the detriment of their athletic careers. All this to make way for virtue-signaling organizers that wish to make themselves look better in the eyes of the woke. Scientists have criticized guidelines set by the International Olympic Committee. They allow any transgender athlete to compete as a woman so long as their testosterone levels are below 10 nanomoles per liter for at least one year before their first competition. They say biological advantages of bone density and muscle structure that have developed in a male through puberty outweigh the effects of the guidelines set by the IOC. In a statement on Thursday, the IOC said they are “developing new guidance to help ensure that athletes – regardless of their gender identity and/or sex characteristics – can engage in safe and fair competition.”

Selection for the New Zealand team may not happen until June. Still, the NZ Olympic weightlifting coach Simon Kent told TVNZ Hubbard met the IWF criteria. “The rules are in place, that’s the playing field we’re playing in, so that’s how we’re going to move forward,” he said.

Australia’s weightlifting federation attempted to have Hubbard blocked from competing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, but organizers rejected the appeal. Hubbard went on to suffer a horrific injury while competing during the 2018 games.

Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard withdraws from #CG2018 after suffering nasty injury during record attempt https://t.co/5ulQblmfLD (Pic: AAP/AP) pic.twitter.com/ailUMxVWVn

— ABC SPORT (@abcsport) April 9, 2018