Weightlifter Hits Out At People Who Question Transgender Inclusion In Competition

A weightlifter has criticised people who question the inclusion of transgender athletes in competition. Watch here:

The subject has come under the spotlight recently, with Kiwi weightlifter Laurel Hubbard making history at the Olympic Games in Tokyo by becoming the first transgender athlete to compete in a different gender category to that which they were born.

Many people questioned whether this was fair, but a female weightlifter has come out and criticised the discourse, stating that most people's objections are motivated by misogyny.

In a viral TikTok video, Laura Mariel started out by explaining how well-placed she is to comment on the subject.

She said: "This is not the first time that I've gotten this question, so I'd like to address it.

"For context, I'm a female weightlifter that competes in the heavyweight division, and there's currently a transgender woman who's competing in the super heavyweight division - the division right above me - in the Olympics this week.

"I'm also an exercise physiology grad student, so I know the physiology of the human body pretty well."

TikTok/@burritos_and_adhd

So yeah, you'd think her opinion on the matter would be worth listening to - and it certainly is.

Laura continued: "What do I think about transgender women competing in female sports?

"I think a lot of people use this question as an excuse for their bigotry. A lot of people that are concerned about transgender women in sports have not given a flying f**k about me as a female athlete.

"You don't care about the inequality in opportunities, in pay, in airtime. You don't care about the blatant misogyny that still exists within sports today. You don't care about the lack of protection against male predators within our sports.

"Basically, people that have not cared one bit about my wellbeing as a female athlete, and are probably the same people that have bullied me, are now suddenly concerned about my competitive opportunities as a female athlete because of transgender women.

"Stop asking this question because you guys don't actually care about us."

Well there you go - put that in your pipe and smoke it.

New Zealander Hubbard has since indicated that she is thinking of retiring, after failing to complete a successful lift at the Games.

PA

The 43-year-old said: "Age has caught up with me. In fact if we're being honest it probably caught up with me some time ago.

"My involvement in sport is probably due, if nothing else, to heroic amounts of anti-inflammatories, and it's probably time for me to start thinking about hanging up the boots and concentrating on other things in my life.

"I'm not sure that a role model is something I could ever aspire to be, instead I hope that just by being I can provide some sense of encouragement."

Topics: Viral, SPORT, transgender

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey