A transgender athlete could be barred from powerlifting after the Canadian union for the sport was ordered to conform to the rules of the international governing body for transgender participants.
The International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) issued the ultimatum to the Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU) on Monday after Anne Andres beat her female competitors at an event earlier this month while grinning on stage.
IPF rules state that participants have their gender identity with a government-issued ID and reveal their testosterone levels, following similar policies of international sports governing bodies.
The move comes after Hutchinson shared her frustration in a fiery op-ed for DailyMail.com, where she called for fairness in sports and berated Andres for mocking her female rivals as “weak.”
“It’s bodies that play sports, not identities. I don’t care about everything else, but when it comes to sports, it’s about bodies and biology and science, and strength, especially with powerlifting,” Hutchinson said today.
‘There was no policy. Anyone could walk up. A man can walk in tomorrow, identify “as a girl”, then just powerlift and then become a man again. No testosterone check.’
Last week, Andres, 40, who currently holds multiple women’s division powerlifting records, competed in the Canadian Powerlifting Union’s 2023 Western Canadian Championship. Her total powerlifting score was 597.5 kg (the total sum of heaviest weight lifted in squat, bench and deadlift.) This was more than 200 kg than her next closest competitor, SuJan Gill, at 387.5 kg.
April Hutchinson shared her concerns in an op-ed last week and is now thrilled to learn that the Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU) has been instructed to follow the official guidelines
Transgender athlete Anne Andres (above) weighed 200 pounds and deadlifted 314 pounds in 2019. Today, Andres weighs nearly 260 pounds and deadlifts over 500
Andres took the stage on which was a T-Rex – a rant from her competitors after berating one for having “little T-Rex arms” and berating women for being “bad” at the sport. She is pictured alongside the only two female competitors in the competition after women refused to compete against her
Last year, Andres also made fun of her female competitors in a video, questioning why the women’s bench is “so bad,” before saying that another powerlifter has “tiny little T-Rex arms.”
The footage also includes the powerlifter referring to herself as a “t****y freak,” so she “doesn’t count” in her “controversial opinion.”
She said, “Standard bench in a women’s powerlifting competition. I literally don’t understand why it (sic) is so bad.”
At this year’s competition, she was on a stage with a T-Rex toy alongside the only two women who would compete against her after two others dropped out.
But Andres could step out of the sport if the CPU meets the ultimatum, or risk being suspended if it doesn’t comply.
Gaston Parage, the president of the IPF, confirmed to DailyMail.com that it issued the ultimatum on Monday, stating in its rules that “no lifter should have an unfair and disproportionate advantage over another athlete.”
“It’s important to do that because we’ve worked out the transgender policy, we wanted to make sure we don’t discriminate against women. It is necessary to have such a policy to ensure that if a transgender person participates, it is fair for the women. That’s how we worked out the transgender policy,’ he says.
“It’s different in different sports, we’re a power sport, so obviously it’s different from other sports and so we’ve had this policy in place for a long time, but Canada has never followed that policy.
“They risk being suspended if they don’t follow that policy.”
Now those transitioning from male to female can compete against women if they have declared themselves transgender and have a valid passport with a female gender. The statement cannot be changed, for competition purposes for a minimum of four years, the IPF guidelines state.
A number of other conditions are outlined, including testosterone levels monitored by testing that are also required to stay below a certain limit.
Gaston Parage, IPF president, confirmed to DailyMail.com that a message had been sent to Canada asking them to follow official guidelines.
“It’s important to do that because we’ve worked out the transgender policy, we wanted to make sure we’re not discriminating against women,” he said.
“It is necessary to have such a policy to ensure that if a transgender person participates, it is fair for the women. That’s how we worked out the transgender policy,’ he says.
“It’s different in different sports, we’re a power sport, so obviously it’s different from other sports and so we’ve had this policy in place for a long time, but Canada has never followed that policy. They risk being suspended if they don’t follow that policy.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to Shane Martin, president of the Canadian Powerlifting Union, for comment.
Hutchinson says the policy is “very strict” to get through.
“It protects women. The IPF has intervened. They don’t believe in discrimination against women, and it’s not fair, so this policy is a step in the right direction for women and girls and sport,” she said.
‘At the moment that means that Anne can’t lift. (She) will have to sign up and have all the tests, get all the medical documentation — it could take years.”
Hutchinson was scheduled to compete against Andres at the Canadian National Championships in February. She didn’t show up.
It wasn’t until the pair argued over transgender New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard (above) competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics that Hutchinson learned that Andres was a biological male.
Hutchinson told DailyMail.com that she and Andres used to be friends, but claims she had no idea she was born a biological male — and eventually passed over after age 20.
One day, the pair were feuding over New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard – the first openly transgender woman to compete in the Olympics – when Hutchinson found out that Andres was also transgender.
“I had no idea he was a man. I refused to fight him,” she said.
She said competition from Andres has created an uneven playing field in her sport, with others who share the same views protesting at their events or not participating at all.
Andres took podiums and basically set records, it shouldn’t be.
“It just doesn’t give women a fair chance at sport, it’s not a level playing field. Why spend money on federations or a sport if you’re just set up to fail or lose, when there are so many physical benefits a man has?
“There’s a reason why men have sports categories for men and women. We deserve to play fair and have men in our sport. I mean it’s, it’s not fair.
“There’s a reason why there are Paralympics, there are different categories – men, women, weight classes.”
For more than a year, Hutchinson has been writing letters and trying to make her voice heard.
She has been working with the IPF for the past six months, hoping to see change.
“I do believe transgender athletes should have a place to lift — they just need a separate category, they need to be in their own division,” she said.
“It has to be on a level playing field. I was just in tears when I found out. I’ve lost so much sleep in the last two years knowing there was a man in my federation competing.
“When I first came out with this fight I felt so alone, I had so much fear and anxiety. It’s amazing what speaking can do. So many people are afraid and they shouldn’t be.’
Last week, Hutchinson laid bare her feelings about the feelings of Andres competing in a local contest and taking first place.
“A grinning 6’2” Anne Andres stepped onto the podium at the Canadian Powerlifting Union Women’s Regional Championship earlier this August to claim the gold medal.
‘I’ll never know what was so funny. But sure, women are treated like a joke.
Andres, a trans person, lifted 1,327 pounds, calculated from the combined weight of three lifts: squat, bench, and deadlift, beating the closest competition by a whopping 470 pounds.
“The top 20 men’s competitors lift more than 2,000 pounds. If Andres competed against them, Andres wouldn’t even be in the top 6,000.
But Andres’s deadlift was the second highest in women’s weightlifting history. It was doubly shocking because athletes who set records in my sport are in their twenties and early thirties.”
Now Hutchinson hopes the work she put in during her campaign will pay off, saying, “This means more to me than any medal I could ever earn. This is probably my greatest achievement in life to be able to change this policy.
“I have two nieces that I want to protect, and they are six years old.
“When they grow up, they will have a fair and safe sport for girls and women.”