ONTARIO, CANADA: A female powerlifter has blasted the inclusion of a transgender athlete in the women's division after Anne Andres set the record.
Andres is reportedly a 40-year-old biological male, who recently participated in the Female Masters Unequipped category at the Canadian Powerlifting Union’s 2023 Western Canadian Championship.
The trans powerlifter made a new record after lifting a total of 597.5 kg (1317.26 pounds). But April Hutchinson is allegedly unhappy with the results. “Those records will never, ever be broken by a biological female,” she reportedly mentioned.
Who is April Hutchinson?
April Hutchinson is a competitive powerlifter hailing from Canada. According to her Instagram bio she is an “IPF Powerlifter Open & M1 84kg+” as well as an “NAPF Deadlift Holder?."
She believes Andres’ participation is not just. The athlete told Fox & Friends, "I keep using the word ‘disheartening’ over and over again. It's outrageous."
What did April Hutchinson say?
"It's a big slap in the face to women that the federation, after all of this time and all these letters, even legal letters, has not stepped up and protected women in sports," April Hutchinson said.
She shared, “Where he lives in Manitoba or BC area, the western area, there are some supporters. But at the same time, a lot of people, for example, at the competition on Sunday had no idea Anne was a man."
Hutchinson continued, “The one woman on the side of the podium on Sunday had no idea the man was a man. Some people just kind of clap along. They don't know what's going on. Some people don't even know what the word ‘transgender’ means.”
“That's why I called him a man. Because if you start throwing around words, people get confused. So you kind of have to call a spade a spade,” she asserted.
She went on to say while referring to Andres’ record, “That deadlift, for example… is something that top athletes who have been training for 10 years and more have not yet achieved. They've been busting their butt off trying to get that. And he literally just strolled in and did it. No problem.”
April Hutchinson called out Canadian Powerlifting Union
Slamming the Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU), Hutchinson stated, “It's the only powerlifting federation that has a trans-inclusion policy.”
“So there's no policy at all to protect women. My boyfriend, who's a big 6-foot-4 firefighter, could walk into a competition tomorrow, say he feels like a woman that day, go compete, crush records and the next day go back to being a man,” she said.
April Hutchinson also added, “Men are going to keep doing it to make a mockery of the federation.”
