Laurel Hubbard debuted in the female category in 2017, and posted a new world record in the W35/super heavyweight category at the IWF Masters that same year.
For this performance, she was named the best lifter in the entire female competition (all ages and weight categories).
Her lift total of 280 kg absolutely smashed her category competitors.
It wouldn’t have been out of place in the corresponding male category.
In fact, Hubbard’s 2017 lift was entirely routine over ten years of the male competition, and a huge outlier in the female competition over the same ten years.
For those asking, this first (incomplete) part of the story shows how, controlled for age, Hubbard is lifting well outside female range.
The second part is, of course, that Hubbard has earned an Olympic spot, despite her advanced age.
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Several people argue that if the metrics of a trans-identified male fall "within female range", it is fair for that male to compete in female sport.
But we need to look at what's typical .v. what's exceptional.
Male traits often overlap with female traits. Height, muscle mass and so forth all generate normal distributions within sex (bell curves), where the lower end of the male range overlaps with the upper end of the female range.
This is a computer-generated series, transitioning between "hyper male" and "hyper female".
Where does your perception of the sex of the person shift?
Which face is the most ambiguous?
If you reply, please include your sex (the actual one).
OK, in the paper, the data was:
Faces 1-3: 100>97% scored "male"
Faces 5-7: 94>100% scored "female"
Face 4 was the transition face, with 68% scoring it "male".
FTR, I didn't hesitate on 4/male then 5/female.
Next set: same series, now skinned 🤣
I won't ask for responses. It is probably obvious that people were less able to detect any sharp transition from male>female, from face-on bone structure.
Note to archeologists: this doesn't mean you can't tell a male from female face, so stop pretending you can't.
In defence of Semenya et al, many argue: 1. athletes with 5ARD are female; 2. features associated with 5ARD are normal female variation; 3. these athletes should be included in female sports.
The first claim is incoherent.
To understand 5ARD, let's look at healthy reproductive development.
Both male and female development are well-understood.
Male development 1. Y chromosome carrying functional SRY that directs testes development 2. testes produce hormones, notably testosterone (T) 3. T first drives male internal genitalia development 4. T>DHT conversion drives male external genital development