Tracey Lambrechs, a former Olympic weightlifter, said that female athletes have been approached in private and told not to complain about trans athlete Laurel Hubbard competing against them.
The 43-year-old Hubbard is poised to the the first trans athlete competing in the Olympics, and will be competing against biological females in their respective categories.
According to the Daily Wire, Hubbard was competing in men's weightlifting before transitioning with surgery in the year 2013. This year, she will be competing as a woman, as long as she maintains a testosterone level of under 10 nanomoles per liter for a whole year before the date of competition and meets other regular requirements.
Lambrechs told the press:
"I’m quite disappointed, quite disappointed for the female athlete who will lose out on that spot. We’re all about equality for women in sport but right now that equality is being taken away from us."
"I’ve had female weightlifters come up to me and say, 'What do we do? This isn’t fair, what do we do?' Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do because every time we voice it we get told to be quiet."
Hubbard has been smashing records since being allowed to compete with biological females in events, setting new world records no less than four times in the past year's time.
Legislative bodies the world over are grappling with the issue of trans athletes, many of them deciding that it is unfair to female athletes to let them compete against them in sports.