Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard will become the first transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics after being selected by New Zealand for the women's event at the Tokyo Games, a decision set to reignite the debate over inclusion and fairness in sport.
Hubbard will compete in the super-heavyweight 87+kg category, her selection made possible by an update to qualifying requirements in May.
The 43-year-old, who will be the oldest lifter at the Games, had competed in men's weightlifting competitions before transitioning in 2013.
"I am grateful and humbled by the kindness and support that has been given to me by so many New Zealanders," Hubbard said in a statement issued by the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) on Monday.
NZOC chief Kereyn Smith said it was an "historic moment in sport and for the New Zealand team."
"She is our first Olympian who has transitioned from male to female," she told reporters.
"We do know that there are many questions about fairness of transgender athletes competing in the Olympic Games but I would like to take this opportunity to remind us all that Laurel has met all of the required criteria."
Hubbard has been eligible to compete at Olympics since 2015, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued guidelines allowing any transgender athlete to compete as a woman provided their testosterone levels are below 10 nanomoles per liter for at least 12 months before their first competition.
Some scientists have said the guidelines do little to mitigate the biological advantages of those who have gone through puberty as males.
Advocates for transgender inclusion argue the process of transition decreases that advantage considerably and that physical differences between athletes mean there is never truly a level playing field.
The New Zealand government gave its support.
"We are proud of her as we are of all our athletes, and will be supporting her all the way," sports minister Grant Robertson said.
Weightlifting has been at the center of the debate over the fairness of transgender athletes competing against women, and Hubbard's presence in Tokyo could prove divisive.
Advocacy group Save Women's Sport Australasia said Hubbard's selection was allowed by "flawed policy from the IOC."
"Males do have a performance advantage that is based on their biological sex," the group's co-founder Katherine Deves told Reuters TV.
"They outperform us on every single metric - speed, stamina, strength. Picking testosterone is a red herring ... We are forgetting about the anatomy, the fast twitch muscle, the bigger organs."
The IOC has consistently said it is committed to inclusion but the organization is also reviewing its guidelines to take into account the "perceived tension between fairness/safety and inclusion/non-discrimination."
Hubbard's gold medal wins at the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa, where she topped the podium ahead of Samoa's Commonwealth Games champion Feagaiga Stowers, triggered outrage in the host nation.
Samoa's weightlifting boss said Hubbard's selection for Tokyo would be like letting athletes "dope" and feared it could cost the small Pacific nation a medal.
Belgian weightlifter Anna Vanbellinghen said last month allowing Hubbard to compete at Tokyo was unfair for women and "like a bad joke."
Former New Zealand weightlifter Tracey Lambrechs said she had to make way in the super-heavyweight category at the Commonwealth Games for Hubbard.
"When I was told to drop the category because Laurel was obviously going to be their number one super, it was heartbreaking, like super soul-destroying," the Olympian told TVNZ.
"And it's unfortunate that some female, somewhere is like, 'Well I'm going to miss out on going to the Olympics, on achieving my dream, representing my country because a transgendered athlete is able to compete."
Hubbard, who injured herself during competition at the Commonwealth Games and thought her career was over, thanked New Zealanders.
"Your support, your encouragement, and your aroha (love)carried me through the darkness," she said.
Another transgender athlete, BMX rider Chelsea Wolfe, will travel to Tokyo as part of the United States team, but is named as an alternate and not assured of competing.
(Reporting by Praveen Menon; Additional reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Andrew Heavens)
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.