Sport2 min(s) read
Published 14:48 05 Aug 2021 GMT
The gold, silver, and bronze medalists in the women's +87kg lifting event at the Tokyo Games have refused to answer a question about their transgender competitor Laurel Hubbard.
The decision to include 43-year-old Hubbard, who was assigned male at birth, in the women's category divided sports fans as some argued she may have a physical advantage over her cisgender teammates.
Needless to say, when China's gold medal winner Li Wenwen, Great Britain's silver medal winner Emily Campbell, and Team USA's bronze medal winner Sarah Robles sat before the press after their respective feats - Hubbard was always going to be a hot topic.
And indeed, one journalist asked the trio what they thought about the groundbreaking decision to include the first openly transgender woman in their sport.
He said: "There was a historic night here with Laurel Hubbard competing as the first openly transgender in an individual event. I was wondering what you felt about that and what you felt that it took place in your sport."
The question was met with an awkward nine-second silence, with Robles finally bringing an end to the lengthy pause by simply telling the reporter: "No, thank you."
Despite the backlash the IOC received for backing Hubbard in her bid to compete at the Games, she exited the competition on Monday, August 2, after missing all three of her snatch lift attempts.
Per Independent, Hubbard said in a statement to the press after her lift attempts: "I know that from a sporting perspective I haven’t really hit the standards that I put upon myself and perhaps the standards that my country has expected of me.
"But one of the things for which I am profoundly grateful is that the supporters in New Zealand have given me so much and have been beyond astonishing. I’d like to thank the New Zealand Olympic Committee.
"They have supported me through what have been quite difficult times. I know that my participation at these Games has not been entirely without controversy but they have been just so wonderful and I’m so grateful to them."
