The issue of trans athletes in sport has again hit the headlines after controversial weightlifter Laurel Hubbard was named as New Zealand’s ‘sportswoman of the year’ by one university – and some fans aren’t buying it.
The University of Otago bestowed the honor on trans athlete Hubbard, becoming the first such sports star to receive the award in its 113-year history and comes after Hubbard became the first openly-trans competitor to compete in a solo event at the Olympic Games in Tokyo this past summer.
However, despite Hubbard, 43, being unsuccessful in her Olympic bid, she has been hailed by the New Zealand university for her impact on sport – despite being outshined at the Olympics by compatriot Lisa Carrington who won three golds in Japan to become the country’s most successful Olympian in history.
Nonetheless Hubbard, who ignited a debate as to the fairness of having athletes who were born male competing against women, gratefully accepted the award and thanked Otago University for the nod.
“It is not possible for athletes to complete at the Olympic level without the encouragement and aroha of friends, family and supporters,” said Hubbard.
“This award belongs to everyone who has been part of my Olympic journey.”
Hubbard, who transitioned to female in 2012, was granted permission to compete in the Olympics thanks to a newly-implemented rule which allows trans women to take part so long as their testosterone levels are below a certain level. Hubbard had previously competed in weightlifting competitions as a male.
“I see the Olympic Games as a global celebration of our hopes, ideals and values and I would like to thank the IOC for its commitment to making sport inclusive and accessible,” Hubbard said in a statement after being granted permission to participate in the Olympics.
“I’m not here to change the world, I just want to be me and do what I do.”
However, not everyone sees it the same way. Hubbard’s participation in Tokyo was seen by some as a line in the sand when it comes to having athlete born biologically male in competition against naturally born women – but the issue once again raising its head in the wake of Hubbard’s recognition from the University of Otago.
This is Lisa Carrington. She is a New Zealand canoeist.
She won three gold medals at Tokyo 2020 and became NZ’s most successful Olympian ever. pic.twitter.com/lP4O8IztRt
“The University of Otago names Hubbard as sportswoman of the year,” read one reaction online. “I am sorry that – once again – women are being displaced. This is outrageous and it needs to stop.
“Is this a joke?” said another. “Even (satirical newspaper) The Babylon Bee would struggle for content this comically insane.“
“This is Lisa Carrington,” wrote a third of the country’s all-conquering canoeist. “She is a New Zealand canoeist. She won three gold medals at Tokyo 2020 and became NZ’s most successful Olympian ever.”
Russian strongman Vladimir Sineglazov has died of Coronavirus complications at the age of 61, it has been announced. Sineglazov held numerous strength records and was famed for his remarkable displays of power and flexibility.
“Yes, unfortunately, sad news came – Vladimir Sineglazov has died of coronavirus, he was 61 years old,”said the local press-service in Sineglazov’s hometown of Yelets, around 400km to the south of Moscow.
According to reports, the former muscleman had spent several days in a coma in intensive care after contracting Covid, and his sister is also said to have died of the virus just one day previously.
Sineglazov became famous in his homeland after appearing with a demonstration of his strength at the opening ceremony of the 1990 USSR Weightlifting Championship.
He went on to become a member of the ‘Theater of Power’, where stars performed unique displays of lifting and flexibility and which toured Russia and parts of Europe.
Sineglazov is said to have set 26 world records during his illustrious weight-lifting days, including two feats recognized by the Guinness Book of Records for lifting weights while performing the splits between two chairs.
In 1995, he lifted a weight of 88kg (194lbs) four times and then held a weight of 156kg (344lbs) while in the same stretched position.
Sineglazov was recognized as Russia’s strongest man in 2009, but his career ended not long after due to health problems, with his legs joints supposedly being “destroyed.”
Russia is currently battling a fourth wave of Coronavirus infections, with record numbers of deaths being reported in recent days.
Everton star Andros Townsend was accused of top-level ‘sh*thousery’ as he pulled off Cristiano Ronaldo’s trademark ‘Siuu’ celebration after equalizing against the Reds at Old Trafford.
Townsend struck in the 65th minute of Saturday’s Premier League clash, driving into the far corner of David de Gea’s net after an Everton breakaway from a United corner at the other end.
Celebrating the crisp finish, Townsend broke out a replica of Ronaldo’s famous pirouette celebration while holding his arms out by his sides.
United had taken the lead through Anthony Martial just before half-time as the Frenchman blasted in a much-needed finish from a Bruno Fernandes assist.
But United’s sketchy Premier League form continued as Rafa Benitez’s high-flying Everton pressed in the second half, gaining reward through Townsend’s equalizer.
The visitors almost snatched a winner just before the end, but Yerry Mina saw his goal ruled out for a marginal offside.
After the scores finished 1-1, Ronaldo was seen storming off the pitch, barely acknowledging a conciliatory arm around the shoulder from Everton goalscorer Townsend.
A stern-faced Cristiano Ronaldo was describing as “fuming” as he stormed off the Old Trafford pitch after Manchester United’s draw with Everton, although manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was seen smiling towards the end of the match.
United threw away a 1-0 lead against the visitors in their Premier League clash on Saturday, with Andros Townsend’s 65th-minute goal canceling out an opener from Anthony Martial just before half-time.
After driving home his strike, Townsend was seen breaking into Ronaldo’s own trademark ‘Siuu!’ celebrating in front of the United faithful, in a move which was seen as rubbing salt in the home team’s wounds as their patchy form continued.
Despite netting five goals in five games since his return to Old Trafford, Ronaldo had only started the match on the bench, with Solskjaer claiming before the game that he wanted to “freshen it up” among his team.
The 36-year-old emerged in the 57th minute to replace Edinson Cavani, but cut a frustrated figure as he watched his team concede an equalizer from an Everton breakaway, before escaping even worse punishment when the visitors had a late Yerry Mina goal ruled out for offside.
In scenes which either irritated, amused or baffled fans depending on your perspective, United boss Solskjaer was seen smiling on the line as he dished out instructions to his team injury time – despite United going a second home league game without a win.
Ronaldo was clearly nonplussed at the whistle, heading down the tunnel with a stern look on his face and barely acknowledging Everton scorer Townsend as he held out a conciliatory arm.
“He stormed down the tunnel,” said former United and England icon Rio Ferdinand in the BT Sport studio.
Cristiano Ronaldo headed straight down the tunnel after United’s 1-1 draw with Everton.
“Disappointed, obviously, at the result. I understand that. It’s a mixture of things, he’s a man in form, he’s scored five in five, he’ll have wanted to continue that form and shoot his team to victory,” Ferdinand added.
“I understand frustrations and it comes out sometimes like that…
“The depth United have in their squad, they should still get this game done today.”
Fellow pundit Jermaine Jenas described the star as “fuming,” saying “he’s one of the most notorious winners ever to play the game, so he’s going to be upset about it.”
Saturday’s result puts both United and Everton on 14 points from their seven Premier League games played so far this season.
Amid reports that several England players are high-profile holdouts for the Covid-19 vaccine, football is staring down a reckoning as it tackles vaccine hesitancy ahead of a World Cup in Qatar which could ban unvaccinated players.
As global sport continues to emerge from its coronavirus slumber, the impact of the ongoing public health crisis is still being felt. The issue, which has commanded the attention of sports news desks for more than 18 months now, has traversed several different elements with each being more controversial than the last.
In the case of English football, it began with the Premier League season being suspended in the weeks after Covid-19 was declared a pandemic before resuming months later inside empty, cavernous stadiums.
As the months ticked along, fans were granted permission to trickle back into stadiums – so long as social distancing was at least tersely acknowledged.
Then came the ‘vaccine passports’ debate, another issue which caused ructions in several football fanbases, existing simultaneously with another keenly-contested debate about race in football as the ‘Black Lives Matter’ campaign received glowing endorsement from English football chiefs.
And as time has passed, it seems as though the only thing that English football and its fans can agree upon is that they don’t agree on anything.
Per reports this week, this uncertainty has bled from the terraces into dressing rooms. A wide-ranging investigation conducted by UK newspaper The Daily Mail this week suggested that numerous top Premier League clubs have experienced pushback from players when it comes to vaccination requirements – with several conspiracy theories said to be prevalent inside clubs.
Among them is the outlandish theory that Microsoft founder Bill Gates has inserted tracking chips into the vaccine so as to keep tabs on its recipients, as well as claims about it being bad for a person’s fertility and even that a course of over the counter vitamins is a more robust treatment for Covid-19 compared to several of the vaccines which have received full clearance from public health watchdogs.
Furthermore, it is believed that the reluctance from senior players is having a significant influence on younger, less experienced players.
But like everything else, actions have consequences. It was reported in The Sun on Saturday that five England squad members remain unvaccinated, with three of those thought to be senior players who starred during Gareth Southgate’s team’s run to the Euro 2020 final this summer – but the vaccination situation within the England camp could hamper their chances at next year’s Qatar World Cup.
England will secure qualification to the tournament with wins against Andorra and Hungary this month, but with Qatari organizers declaring that unvaccinated players will not be permitted to enter the country.
Thus, these England players face a dilemma: get vaccinated, or kiss your international career goodbye.
Gareth Southgate’s role in this scenario will be an interesting one too, given that he fronted a high-profile vaccination campaign in recent weeks and is known to be fully on-board with the vaccination drive and even admitted that he had received full-voiced abuse from sections of England fans for his vaccine endorsement.
Dispensations have already been handed out to the unnamed, unvaxxed England squad members who are thought to have been granted permission to train alongside their vaccinated peers in a move predicted to provoke dissent within the ranks.
However, with more than a year before the next World Cup kicks off it must be acknowledged that this tabloid talk could see several more developments before it truly impacts Southgate’s plans – but with England’s qualification almost assured, it begs the question if the England boss will begin his year-long preparation for the tournament with players he fears won’t be available to him in Qatar?
The flip-side of that particular coin is should England holdouts be compelled to take a vaccine they don’t want in order to continue their international career, further blurring the line between ‘voluntary’ and ‘mandatory’?
Whichever way you slice this, there is no easy and obvious quick fix which can be neatly tied into a bow and presented to the public with a rose-tinted publicity campaign before we enter territory of players being deemed “medically unavailable” for selection.
English football is facing a reckoning between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, and the question now seems to be whether its the players, the FA, or the organizers of the Qatar World Cup, who blink first.
