The powerlifting meet took place in Virginia at the end of April.
Powerlifting consists of three lifts: back squat, bench press, and deadlift. At a meet the athlete has three chances to lift the most weight in each of the three lifts.
At the meet, Mary Gregory made all her lift (called going 9 for 9) and broke four world records: Masters world squat, open world bench, Masters world deadlift, and master world total.
Immediately after her wins, former olympians took to twitter to voice their opinions about the unfairness of the competition.
Within weeks of the competition the governing body overseeing the meet, Raw Powerlifting Federation, stripped Gregory of her titles.
USA Powerlifting, another governing body in the sport of powerlifting, has a policy in which transitioning athletes aren’t allowed to compete against atheletes who’s gender matches their biological sex.
From USA Powerlifting: “Men naturally have a larger bone structure, higher bone density, stronger connective tissue and higher muscle density than women… These traits, even with reduced levels of testosterone do not go away. While MTF (male to female) may be weaker and less muscle than they once were, the biological benefits given them at birth still remain over than of a female.”
