Female powerlifter rails against trans competitor Anne Andres, 40, saying ‘it’s bodies that play sports not identities’ after she smashed female record during championship

• April Hutchinson, a powerlifter with the Canadian Powerlifting Union, criticized the decision to allow Andres to compete as being ‘completely unfair’
• The weight lifted by Andres totaled 597.5kg across the squat, bench and deadlift disciplines – 200kg more than her closest opponent, SuJan Gill 

A female powerlifter has railed against a transgender competitor after she smashed the women’s record during a championship.

Anne Andres, a 40-year-old trans woman, set the all-time record at the Canadian Powerlifting Union’s 2023 Western Canadian Championship Sunday – lifting a combined 200 kilograms more than the competitor in second place.

April Hutchinson, a powerlifter with the Canadian Powerlifting Union, criticized the decision to allow Andres to compete as being ‘completely unfair.’

‘It’s bodies that play sports, not identities. Remember, bodies are biology, not identities that play sports,’ Hutchinson said.

The weight lifted by Andres totaled 597.5 kilograms across the squat, bench and deadlift disciplines – 200 kilograms more than her closest opponent, SuJan Gill.

Gill’s combined total was 387.5 kilograms.

A female powerlifter has railed against transgender competitor Anne Andres smashed the women’s record during a championship (pictured)

Anne Andres, a 40-year-old trans woman, set the all-time record at the Canadian Powerlifting Union’s 2023 Western Canadian Championship Sunday – lifting a combined 200 kilograms more than the competitor in second place 

April Hutchinson, a powerlifter with the Canadian Powerlifting Union, criticized the decision to allow Andres to compete as being ‘completely unfair’

With her total, Andres set a new Canadian women’s national record, while also unofficially beating the women’s world record. 

Speaking to Talk TV, Hutchinson said: ‘It’s been very disheartening’ to see Andres beat the record. ‘Athletes have been chasing that for years. And we’re talking top athletes who have been training and training and training.’

She added that some women quit the competition because they knew that Andres would be lifting.

‘My boyfriend could basically walk in tomorrow, identify as a female, compete, and then the next day, go back to being a man again,’ Hutchinson said.

‘No proof, no ID required, just basically going on how you feel that day or whatever gender you want,’ she said.

On Tuesday, swim star Riley Gaines took aim at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for policies that allow the Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU) to have a gender self-identification Trans Inclusion Policy.

Andres hit the headlines in March after male powerlifting coach Avi Silverberg, who worked with Team Canada, entered a competition in protest of the transgender policies laid out by the CPU.

He self-identified as a woman and shattered the 84+ kilogram category whose record holder is Andres.

She was present to watch Silverberg break the bench press record at the ‘Heroes Classic’, and was quick to respond by calling him a ‘coward and a bigot’ with ‘malicious intent.’ 

Swim star Riley Gaines took aim at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday after the transgender athlete set an unofficial world record in powerlifting

Andres has previously mocked women for being ‘so bad’ at bench pressing.

‘Why is women’s bench so bad?’ she said in February. ‘I mean not compared to me, we all know that I’m a tranny freak, so that doesn’t count.

‘I mean, standard bench in powerlifting competitions for women. I literally don’t understand why it’s so bad.’

She made the statements in a video uploaded online.

At the time, Gaines – who is also spokeswoman for the Independent Women’s Forum and a competitive swimmer who was beaten by transgender athlete Lia Thomas – hit out at Andres.

She wrote on Twitter: ‘Anne Andres (male who identifies and competes as a woman) doesn’t understand why female powerlifters are so “bad” at bench press… 

‘Well I don’t know Anne, but maybe it’s because you have 20 times more testosterone than them. Just a thought…’ Gaines wrote.

ICONS Women, a campaign group dedicated to defending the rights of female athletes in single-sex sport, posted the clip of Silverberg on their Twitter account.

The issue of allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sport has become increasingly contentious after a series of high-profile cases. 

In 2022 transgender swimmer Lia Thomas divided the sports community after spending three years on the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s swimming team.

Thomas – who is 6 foot 3 inches – came back for her final year as a female swimmer and began breaking records in the pool. 

She beat Gaines, who has since become an outspoken advocate for protecting female spaces in sport. 

Gaines took objection not only to Thomas’s unfair advantage, having been born a man, but also claimed it made her feel uncomfortable in the locker room.

‘You have someone with male genitalia pulling his pants down, watching you as you undress. It throws you off,’ she said at the time. 

The official women’s 84kg+ record-holder is transgender powerlifter Anne Andres, who previously mocked women for being ‘so bad’ at bench press

And in 2021 New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard qualified for the Tokyo Olympics despite being nearly twice the age of her female rivals.

She had transitioned in her 30s in 2012, having competed in male weightlifting competitions beforehand. 

She took a 16-year hiatus from the sport before returning as a woman in 2017. 

She won two World Championship silver medals in the 90kg class in California. 

She was able to qualify for the Olympic Games after the International Olympic Committee changed their rules to allow women to compete if their testosterone levels are below a certain threshold. 

In 2021 she was controversially named sportswoman of the year by the University of Otago.

And in March, a transgender cyclist won first place at a female race in New York City amid ongoing debates over the inclusion of trans athletes in female competitions.

Tiffany Thomas, 46, who was born male, ended the Randall’s Island Crit cycling race atop the podium, blowing the competition out of the water to snatch first place.

Despite only taking up cycling in 2018, Tiffany quickly found success and has dominated competitions in the years since. 

Riley Gaines was beaten by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas last year at the NCAA championships. Thomas competed as a male swimmer for three years before returning as a woman and began breaking records in the pool

New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard (pictured) was controversially named sportwoman of the year by New Zealand’s University of Otago

Hubbard transitioned in her 30s in 2012, having competed in male weightlifting competitions beforehand 

She recently landed a place on top cycling team LA Sweat, where her oldest teammate is just 32. 

It comes after the World Athletics announced it would prohibit transgender athletes who have been through ‘male puberty’ from competing in women’s world ranking sports. 

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said the organization ‘believes the integrity of the female category in athletics is paramount.’

The decision means Thomas will not be able to compete in the world championships or the Olympics.

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