DISAPPOINTING

Laurel Hubbard, First Out Transgender Woman Athlete at Olympics, Crashes Out in Weightlifting

Laurel Hubbard, 43, made history, but it was more of a cameo performance with three failed attempts in the opening round.

Laurel Hubbard, the 43-year-old New Zealand weightlifter, made sporting history Monday as the first out transgender woman to compete at the Olympics. But her appearance in the +87kg class at the Tokyo Games could hardly have been briefer. After three straight failures in the opening snatch, Hubbard was the only competitor to drop out of the competition before the concluding clean and jerk.

Hubbard failed to hold on her first attempt at 120kg, dropping the bar behind her. Her second lift, at 125kg, appeared successful but was disqualified by the judges because her elbows were shaking too much. On the final attempt, she again failed to hold. Taking a clear lead into the clean and jerk was the 21-year-old Chinese Li Wenwen, who set an Olympic record of 140kg in the snatch.