*WARNING: The video below contains graphic content.
Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard was the favorite to win gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. And she was on track to do so until a gruesome elbow injury mid-snatch forced her to withdraw from the competition. For those unfamiliar with Olympic weightlifting, the only lifts involved are the snatch and clean and jerk. The total weight of the two heaviest lifts comprise the competitor’s score.
Hubbard, who competes in the women’s 90kg+ (198lb+) category, had a healthy 7kg (15lb) lead over her competitors until the ill-fated snatch attempt—a Commonwealth record-breaking lift nonetheless—caused her elbow to bend in a stomach-turning way. Despite the fact she was clearly in a significant amount of pain, she walked it off just as quickly as it happened.
Hubbard, 40, has been garnering media attention due to the fact she’s a transgender athlete. Some people believe she should be ineligible to compete in the women’s competition.
Up until four years ago, she competed as a male. Hubbard has undergone testing to ensure her testosterone levels are low enough to be eligible to compete as a female based on the International Olympic Committee’s standards, according to BBC Sports.
Despite the awful injury, Hubbard doesn’t regret the attempt.
“The one saving grace in all of this is I’m not in any great pain at the moment,” Hubbard told reporters, CNN reports. “I’m sure that will come with time. At this stage we don’t know the exact details of the injury…It seems likely that I have ruptured a ligament, some insignificant tissue damage. But until we have further scanning we won’t know the details.”
Watch Hubbard’s attempt in the video below. Again, this is graphic.
