Laurel Hubbard could become New Zealand's first medallist at a weightlifting world championships this week.
The transgender athlete, formerly known as Gavin, will line up in the women's 90kg-plus class in Anaheim, California, on Wednesday afternoon (NZT).
She had to demonstrate her testosterone levels were below a certain threshold for 12 months before competing for New Zealand. Her combined starting entry weight of 280kg ranks her second behind Egyptian Shaimaa Ahmed Khalaf Haridy's 285kg among the 11 competitors.
Hubbard should have a decent medal opportunity across each of the clean and jerk, snatch and combined categories. The 39-year-old's personal best of 282kg (131kg snatch and 151kg clean and jerk) was set in Auckland on June 11.
Her best chance is expected to be in the snatch. Her 131kg lift, which she also achieved on the way to winning the World Masters Games in April, would place her ahead of all but one of her world championship rivals from performances last year.