New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard was BOTD in 1978. Born in Auckland and assigned male at birth, her father was Dick Hubbard, a former mayor of Auckland and a well-known business owner. She began competing in (male) weightlifting competitions in her teens, though stopped in 2001, explaining, “It just became too much to bear … just the pressure of trying to fit into a world that perhaps wasn’t really set up for people like myself.” She transitioned to female in 2012, and began competing in international weightlifting events. In 2017, she won a gold medal at the Australian International and Australian Open in Melbourne, becoming the first transgender woman to win an international weightlifting title. Her win was met with widespread criticism, with many athletes arguing that it was unfair to allow her to compete in the women’s category. She was selected to represent New Zealand at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, meeting the International Olympic Committee’s eligibility requirements for transgender athletes. Her inclusion attracted extensive and polarised media coverage, both welcomed as a step towards trans inclusivity in competitive sport and criticised for perceived unfairness. She placed last in competition, later thanking her supporters and expressing her wish to fade into “graceful obscurity”.