Thread by @fairplaywomen

Weight lifting is divided into weight categories. The bigger the lifter the more weight they can lift.

It would be unfair to allow a heavy weight to compete in a light weight category. /2

We also divide weightlifting into SEX categories. Even the smallest males can lift more than the biggest females.

That's because male bodies develop on high levels testosterone but female bodies don't. This is called MALE performance advantage /3

Laurel Hubbard's body developed on high levels of testosterone and so has MALE performance advantage.

Many studies show that lowering testosterone in adulthood does not remove male performance advantage /4

Hubbard is one of the top lifters in the heavy weight female category. But can only lift the same as other males who are 5 Stone (30kg) lighter! /5

Hubbard cannot lift anywhere close to other male's of the same size. Hubbard is not an Olympic level lifter /6

Female Olympic medal contender OR mediocre male? /7

Who will Laurel Hubbard be up against?
China's Wenwen Li is favourite for GOLD. /8

The real battle will be for SILVER and BRONZE.
USA's Sarah Robles is a strong contender. This is her third Olympics, and at age 32 this will be her last /9

Great Britain has a good chance of a medal. Emily Campbell won the European Championships in April. She's good. But will she be good enough to beat Hubbard? /10

At age 43, Hubbard is a veteran and 20 years older than most of the Olympic line up. It's unheard of for a woman this old to still be competitive at the highest levels. /11

Who’s missing from Tokyo 2020?
There are only 14 places available per Olympic weight category. Hubbard has taken one of these female spaces. This means a woman has lost out on her place to make room.

That woman’s name is Roviel Detenamo. /12

Roviel is from Nauru, a small island in the Pacific Ocean.

This should have been her first Olympics. She would have been the 3rd Nauruan women to ever become an Olympian, and the 1st for almost 20 years

The IOCs transgender inclusion policy meant she never made it to Tokyo /13

Whether Hubbard gets a medal next week or not women have already paid the price. A woman lost her Olympic dream.

Inclusion for Laurel means exclusion for Roviel. This is what trans inclusion in women’s sport means. Females get excluded from their own category /14

Here's the thread in an article for easy sharing with family and friends. /15 fairplayforwomen.com/laurel_hubbard/

Start a conversation about transgender inclusion in women's sport today. Most people knows its unfair. They are just too scared to say it out loud /16. fairplayforwomen.com/commonsense_sp…