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# Laurel Hubbard confirmed as first trans Olympic athlete
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/laurel-hubbard-confirmed-as-first-trans-olympic-athlete/
- Published: 2021-06-22T10:11:19.000Z
- Updated: 2021-06-22T10:11:19.000Z
- Description: the first out trans athlete to have ever competed in the sporting event
- Author: Rachel Badham
- Tags: Information, News, Queer Corner, Sport, New Zealand

![](https://www.gscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/laurel-hubbard-nz-600-400.jpg)

Laurel Hubbard

On **June 21**, it was confirmed by the **New Zealand** Olympic committee that weightlifter **Laurel Hubbard** will be participating in the upcoming Tokyo Olympic games, making her the first out trans athlete to have ever competed in the sporting event. According to the [*BBC*](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-57549653?ref=scenemag.co.uk), the 43-year-old athlete will be competing in the 87kg weightlifting category after becoming eligible to enter the Olympics in 2015 when the regulations on trans athletes were amended.

In a statement, Hubbard said that she is *“grateful and humbled by the kindness and support”* that has been shown to her *“by so many New Zealanders”*. She continued: *“When I broke my arm at the Commonwealth Games three years ago, I was advised that my sporting career had likely reached its end. But your support, your encouragement, and your aroha* \[affection\] *carried me through the darkness.”*

[![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/new_zealand_olym600400.png)](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/home/)

Despite widespread support for Hubbard in her home country, some have contested her participation in the games. Belgian weightlifter [**Anna Van Bellinghen**](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/weightlifter-blasts-trans-inclusion-in-the-olympics/) recently described trans inclusion in professional sports as a *“bad joke”* which is *“unfair”* to cis women such as herself. She referred to Hubbard’s qualification for the games as *“unfair to the sport and to the athletes.”*

Despite the increasing hostility towards trans athletes, a [2021 study](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/study-finds-no-evidence-for-banning-trans-inclusion-in-sports/) found there is no evidence to support banning trans women from sports, saying any advantages should be related to an athlete’s individual ability.