Former British Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies took to social media Monday to criticize the International Olympic Committee for allowing a biological male to compete against women in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
“We have men &women’s separate competition 4a BIG reason, biology in sport matters,’ Davies tweeted. “Separate categories give females equal opportunities of sporting success, the average age of a female Olympic weight lifter is 23.”
“Laurel Hubbard is 43,” Davies tweeted. “30% unfair advantage! Sex not gender 4 Sport.”
“I am grateful and humbled by the kindness and support that has been given to me by so many New Zealanders,’ Hubbard said after the announcement was made.
The Daily Mail reported on Hubbard’s acceptance to compete in the women’s super-heavyweight 87-kg category:
[Hubbard] became eligible to compete in the Olympics when new guidelines were set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2015.The IOC policy specifies conditions under which those who transition from male to female are eligible to compete in the female category.
Among them is that the athlete has declared that her gender identity is female and that the declaration cannot be changed, for sporting purposes, for a minimum of four years.
Hubbard competed as a man until he decided to start living — and competing — as a woman at age 35.
And there are many in the weightlifting community who are critical of the development, including Belgian weightlifter Anna Van Bellinghen, 27, who will most likely compete against Hubbard. She said it was “like a bad joke.”
The Daily Mail reported that Hubbard’s former teammate, Tracey Lambrechs, said last month that the concerns of biological female weightlifters were being ignored.
“I’ve had female weightlifters come up to me and say ‘This isn’t fair, what can we do?’” Lambrechs told broadcaster TVNZ.
“Unfortunately there’s nothing we can do because every time we voice it (concerns) we get told to be quiet,” Lambrechs said.
The Daily Mail report also included a statement from Beth Stelzer, a U.S. amateur powerlifter who founded Save Women’s Sports.
“’What the Olympics is doing by allowing males to compete in the women’s category is not only shameful but a mockery of sport,” the statement said. “We cannot change our sex.”
“A male cannot become a female by lowering their Testosterone, women are not a hormone level,” Stelzer said in the statement. “Identities do not play sports, bodies play sports.”
“The rights of females should not end where the feelings of a few males begin,” Stelzer said. “We need to stop complying with these lies and start supporting females.”
Follow Penny Starr on Twitter or send news tips to pstarr@breitbart.com.
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