Commonwealth Games reject complaint against trans weightlifter

A trans woman who had her eligibility to compete in the upcoming Gold Coast Commonwealth Games has been cleared to participate by officials earlier this week.

Laurel Hubbard qualified to compete last year, but the head of the Australian Weightlifting Foundation Mike Keelan requested that she be banned due to an ‘unfair competitive advantage’.

Officials from The Commonwealth Games Federation released a statement dismissing the complaint from Keelan, outlining that she meets all of the prerequisites to compete in the women’s category.

[The International Weightlifting Federation] has established sport-specific eligibility criteria to be applied for Gold Coast 2018 which allows both male and female athletes that have qualified to compete,” the statement read.

“The gender eligibility criteria currently applied by the IWF does not constructively discriminate against transgender athletes and as a consequence there is no moral, ethical or legal basis to prevent transgender athletes from pursuing their sporting ambitions and competing in IWF-sanctioned events.”

Olympic Weightlifting New Zealand president Garry Marshall has also identified that Hubbard, like all female competitors, was required to meet a certain level of hormones to compete.

“Laurel has met all the requirements they’ve asked which includes a monthly testosterone test, and her testosterone levels are lower than a [cis] female,” Marshall said.

Star Observer have previously reported that the Australian Weightlifting Federation have been critical of trans participation in the sport, specifically towards Hubbard.

Hubbard is set to be the first trans athlete to compete for her home country of New Zealand at any Commonwealth Games.