Laurel Hubbard, a male lifter who identifies as transgender, regularly defeats female opponents in competition, despite his advanced age. (Credit: Getty Images)

AU; WS; US. Lately, there has been a huge struggle between female athletes, and the unfairness of having to compete against transgender-identified, male athletes. Fortunately, the tide might be changing around the world, as female athletes are no longer standing for it. While politicians and prominent leaders of sports organizations in Australia and Samoa are questioning the fairness of forcing women to compete against male athletes who identify as women, female athletes in the United States are taking action, successfully putting pressure on sports organizations and politicians to preserve the integrity of female sports.

Recently, just six months before the Tokyo Games were scheduled to take place, the Australian Olympic Committee CEO Matt Carroll called for action on transgender athletes. Carroll expressed sympathy for female athletes, who are not able to enter “the race on a level playing field,” due to being forced to compete against a large number of transgender competitors.

The last time the International Olympic Committee (IOC) evaluated whether transgender-identified, male athletes should be able to compete in women’s sports was in 2015.

Nobody wants to discuss the problem. That’s because they don’t want to be accused of discriminating against transgender athletes.

Therefore, transgender athletes such as weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, are allowed to compete in women’s sports.

Laurel Hubbard (Source: PTI)

Laurel Hubbard was just one of a number of athletes bidding to compete at the 2020 Games, along with athletes in volleyball, cycling and BMX.

Recently, Laurel Hubbard, who’s from New Zealand, suffered an injury at the latest weightlifting competition in Australia that has prevented him from earning a spot in Tokyo.

But that’s not stopping other transgender athletes from qualifying and taking his spot.

Laurel Hubbard, who’s 42-years-old, use to compete in the men’s weightlifting competition as Gavin, before transitioning seven years ago.

Mr Gavin will still have one more opportunity to qualify for the Tokyo Games at the Oceania Championships in Naura in April.

If Hubbard recovers in time, and qualifies for the Tokyo Games, he poses a threat to the athletes who were born biological females.

This has caused many female athletes to have no choice but to take a stand, such as three-time Australian Olympian Tamsyn Lewis, a track and field athlete. Lewis asked: “If we don’t take a stand, what’s going to happen to the female category of sport?” She explained:

If you’ve grown up a male and had testosterone your bone structure is different to the female, your upper body strength is going to remain, you’ve got greater lung capacity a larger heart size, there’s too many unknowns about how much going through puberty and being born a male is going to affect your result.

Transgender athletes have an unfair size and strength advantage, no matter how many hormone suppressants they consume.

Many female athletes haven’t stood up to this issue until now, because it’s extremely politically charged. And not even the IOC can come to the proper guidelines.

According to some, like journalist Ani O’Brien, Hubbard is only doing what the rules allow, and condemnation should not be directed toward individuals such as Hubbard, but instead at the governing bodies that have failed to protect women’s sports against the unreasonable demands of lobby groups.

Concerns about the unfairness to female athletes have reached the nation of Samoa.

Loau Solamalemalo Keneti Sio, Organising Committee Chairman of the Pacific Games, a former rugby union player, and Member of Parliament in charge of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture of Samoa, has spoken out, saying, “We all know that it is not fair to the women lifters.”

He said his hands are tied. “The rules have changed and we cannot deviate from these rules.”

Samoa’s Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, also questioned the legitimacy of allowing transgender to lift with women.

The Prime Minister said it is unfair for women to train hard to compete, only to lose to a transgender athlete who has an unfair advantage.

A number of young female athletes in the US are leading the charge to reverse the tide, having launched civil actions in regards to transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports.

The states of Idaho and Arizona recently passed bills requiring athletes to compete against members of their sex in sports events that are sponsored by state schools, colleges and universities. The state of Ohio has proposed a similar bill. In Hawaii, the High School Athletic Association policy allowing male athletes who identify as girls to compete against girls in state high schools is currently under legal challenge. Opponents are calling legislation requiring athletes to compete with members of their sex “anti-transgender,” but female voices are finally being heard.

Hopefully, with more female athletes speaking up about the unfair advantages males who identify as women have over them, more countries and international sports organizations will work diligently to save female sports before it is completely extinct.