Story highlights Officials say transgender weightlifter has every right to compete as a woman

Critics say her inclusion could be unfair

(CNN) New Zealand athlete Laurel Hubbard recently won the Australian International weightlifting competition, and made history in the process. For one, she set a new national record for the women's "clean and jerk," an achievement she hopes with put her on the path to the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

She also became the first transgender woman to represent New Zealand at such an event -- a detail that has drawn praise and criticism.

For critics, the big wrinkle here lies somewhere between her margin of victory -- the second-place finisher lifted about 41 pounds (19 kg) less than her -- and the fact that Hubbard competed as a man before her transition.

Some other competitors at the event said her inclusion gives her an unfair advantage. "We all deserve to be on an even playing field," a fellow female weightlifter told New Zealand news channel 1 News Now

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