Weightlifting New Zealand are certain Laurel Hubbard meets the International Olympic Committee's criteria for selection

The 43-year-old could qualify the women's super heavyweight class for the Tokyo Games.

That would make her the first open transgender competitor at an Olympics.

The IOC's most recent rules allow athletes to compete as "women" - regardless of muscle memory - provided their testosterone levels are below 10 nanomoles per litre for 12 months.

High performance director Simon Kent admits the topic's polarising.



Meanwhile, three-time Olympic champion Tamara Press has died aged 83.

The Soviet retired after speculation about her gender.

Her success pushed New Zealand shot putter Val Young into fourth at the 1960 Rome and 1964 Tokyo Games.