World News for Students of English

28-06-2021 07:00

New Zealand chose the first transgender athlete who will compete at the Tokyo Olympics.

Laurel Hubbard competed in men’s weightlifting before she decided to become a woman. In 2015, she became a woman, and since that time, she could compete in women’s weightlifting.

Hubbard will compete in the super heavyweight category, and some people will probably not be happy about it. Some people think that transgender athletes should not compete because it is not fair to the other athletes.

The International Olympic Committee changed the rules for transgender athletes who can compete if their levels of testosterone are low enough. Some scientists say that transgender women went through puberty as men, and therefore, it makes them better at sports than other women because they are taller or bigger.

Difficult words: transgender (a person who was born a man but he feels to be a woman, or  a person who was born a woman but she feels to be a man), testosterone (a hormone which makes the body look like a man), puberty (the time when a child is becoming an adult).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.