Weightlifter goes viral with take on Laurel Hubbard as she accuses critics of hypocrisy

A weightlifter has gone viral over her thoughts about Laurel Hubbard, accusing her critics of hypocrisy.

As the first transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics, Laurel Hubbard has received a lot of criticism and abuse.

The New Zealander’s appearance in the woman’s 87kg+ event sparked much debate, with some rivals suggesting the 43-year-old has an inevitable hormonal advantage having gone through male puberty.

However, Hubbard is in line with International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) rules, where in 2015 it permitted transgender athletes to compete in women’s sport if they have declared their gender identity as female for at least four years and their testosterone levels have been below a certain level for at least a year.

In the end, Hubbard wasn’t able to record a successful lift in Monday’s competition and did not place. She has announced she will retire from the sport as “age has caught up with her.”

Fellow weightlifter and TikToker Laura Mariel has now weighed into the debate, after she answered a question about transgender athletes in sport.

Mariel has competed four times in national weightlifting competitions in the US, finishing 5th in this year’s nationals as a 87kg weightlifter, and 4th in 2018.

You can watch the video in full here.

“This is not the first time that I’ve gotten this question so I’d like to address it,” she began. “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 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*** about me as a female athlete. You don’t care about the inequalities in opportunities, in pay, in airtime... You don’t care about the blatant misogyny that still exists within sports today.”

Mariel added: “Basically people who have not cared one bit about my wellbeing as a female athlete, and are probably the same people who have bullied me, are now concerned about my competitive opportunities as a female athlete because of transgender women.”

Since posting her thoughts, Mariel’s video has gone viral on TikTok and Twitter - with people also sharing what they think about Mariel’s opinion.

Many agreed with the points Mariel made and praised her video.

However, there were some people suggested that Mariel was not sharing her true feelings on the matter and that she dodged giving a straight-forward answer.

In a follow-up video, Mariel reveals why she will not give a detailed opinion on trans women in sports.

You can watch the video in full here.

“Did you stop to think that maybe this isn’t just a physiological debate? That there are a lot of social factors at play as well.

“That being said, most of you transphobic snowflakes don’t even know your own endocrine system...”

“Either side that I choose, whether I say that it’s “fair” or “unfair” that trans women are competing against cis women, all the TERFS and transphobes are gonna take that and twist it on its head to either hurt cis women or hurt trans women.”

At the end of the video, Mariel describes herself as a “feminist who supports trans people.”