Laurel Hubbard drops retirement hint after Olympics furore: 'Age just caught up with me' Hubbard appears to be ready to step away from weightlifting again after her 'controversial' involvement at the Olympics 4 August 2021 • 9:07am Laurel Hubbard was the first transgender woman to compete in the Olympics Credit: AP Laurel Hubbard, who became the first transgender athlete to compete individually at the Olympics, has suggested she is "hanging up the boots". At 43, she told broadcasters in New Zealand that age "just caught up with me". "If we're being honest, it probably caught up with me some time ago," she added. "My involvement in sport is probably due if nothing else to heroic amounts of anti-inflammatories and it's probably time for me to start thinking about hanging up the boots and concentrating on other things in my life."