Learning English

Olympics: First transgender athlete

Laurel Hubbard will become the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics. Hubbard is a weightlifter from New Zealand and will take part in the Tokyo Games. Hubbard previously participated in men’s competitions before transitioning in 2012.

Learn vocabulary to talk about this news story.

Watch the video and complete the activity

NEWS REVIEW PODCAST NOW AVAILABLE - SUBSCRIBE HERE

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Did you like that? Why not try these? 

• Football: 'Super League' for Europe: BBC News Review
• Nike-Kaepernick advert controversy: BBC News Review
• The language of biscuits

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

The story

The New Zealand weightlifter, Laurel Hubbard, is set to become the first transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics. The country’s Olympic Committee has named her as part of the women’s team for the Tokyo Games.

Hubbard competed in men’s competitions before transitioning in 2012.

Key words and phrases

trans
transgender

• Trans issues have gained more media attention in recent years.
• Some countries have laws in place to protect trans people.

polarising
very divisive

• The election has had a polarising effect on the country.
• The recent lockdown has polarised opinion in this community.

brews
becomes stronger

• Who will be selected for the Olympics? Speculation is brewing!
• An argument is brewing over whose turn it is to do the washing-up.

To do

Try our quiz to see how well you've learned today's language.

Downloads

You can download the audio and PDF document for this episode.

More

We hope you enjoyed News Review. You can find more episodes here.