But organisers rejected the move
More fawning coverage of “Laurel” Hubbard’s successful cheating:
Weightlifting has been at the centre of the debate over the fairness of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, and Hubbard’s presence in Tokyo is set to attract huge media attention as well as criticism from fellow lifters and coaches.
Her 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 island nation.
Australia’s weightlifting federation sought to block Hubbard from competing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast but organisers rejected the move.
In other words organisers said a big “fuck you” to women in weightlifting.
I’m finding the coverage of Hubbard’s Olympics bid confusing. As best as I understand it, the NZOC is “likely” to nominate Hubbard, based on his potential to obtain a top-eight finish in the event. I am unclear what happens if they don’t nominate Hubbard: no weightlifter in that category for NZ? A different weightlifter in that category? In any event, the mere fact that he is likely to earn a top-eight finish and quite possibly a medal, and that this likelihood is not merely an effect but also a criterion for selecting him, is disturbing.