Graham Linehan explains the background to a weightlifter called Laurel Hubbard becoming the first trans-identified male athlete to compete in a women's category at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
"Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard will become the first trans-identified male athlete to compete in a women’s category at the Olympics after being selected to represent New Zealand at the Tokyo Games. At 43 years old, Hubbard is the oldest weightlifter at the Olympics — the average age of the women weightlifters being nearly half that at 23. Hubbard previously competed internationally as Gavin, and at 35 years old began referring to himself as a woman. Notably, athletes begin to phase out of competitive sports at around their thirties, and although this certainly is dependent on which type of sport they participate in, there hasn’t been a female athlete who has competed in a super heavy weightlifting at an Olympic level over the age of 35 in at least the past two decades, according to developmental biologist Emma Hilton. The year that Hubbard debuted in female weightlifting, he set a new world record in the heavyweight category. For this, Hubbard was named the 2017 Woman’s Grand Master."
