Laurel Hubbard represented New Zealand at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Photo / PhotosportBelgian weightlifter Anna Van Bellinghen has hit out at the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and branded Laurel Hubbard's expected inclusion at the Tokyo Olympics "a terrible joke". While not yet named, it's expected the 43-year-old will be included in the New Zealand Olympic team. Van Bellinghen will compete in the same 87kg-plus division as Hubbard when the event gets underway on July 24. "Anyone that has trained weightlifting at a high level knows this to be true in their bones: this particular situation is unfair to the sport and to the athletes," Van Bellinghen told Olympics news website insidethegames.

Source: New Zealand Herald June 01, 2021 17:15 UTC