A Canadian powerlifting coach just proved to the world once again that allowing men to compete in women’s sports is a dumb idea.
Avi Silverburg entered the Heroes Classic Powerlifting meet in Alberta, Canada and he participated in the 84+ kilograms division bench press competition -- as a female. He did this to mock the competition's entry rules and to prove that men should never be allowed to compete against women.
Predictably, Silverburg was able to smash the previous record with ease.
A male powerlifting coach self-identified as a woman and broke a women's benchpress record in protest of gender self-identification in sport.
— REDUXX (@ReduxxMag) March 28, 2023
Avi Silverberg performed the defiant act while the current record holder, a transgender male, watched.
READ: https://t.co/MXiyiGMgWQ pic.twitter.com/7J1b4iHlFG
That guy looked like he was barely lifting any weight! It’s almost like he’s naturally that strong … much stronger than most women naturally are, you might say.
Why was Silverburg able to do this? Because the Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU) allows anyone who self-identifies as a woman to enter the competition.
“Based on this background and available evidence, the Expert Working Group felt that trans athletes should be able to participate in the gender with which they identify, regardless of whether or not they have undergone hormone therapy,” the policy reads.
Gosh, if restrictions are that low, maybe I’ll fly up to Alberta next year and break some records myself!
To make this situation more ironic, the record for bench press Silverburg broke in the women’s division wasn’t even set by a biological woman. The previous record was held by transgender Anne Andres, who in February had mocked women for being weak at bench press in general.
“Why is women's bench so bad?' he said. “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.”
It’s bad because women are generally weaker than men, and the only reason Andres could break the records easily is because -- in his own words -- he’s a tranny freak. Ironically, Andres was present to watch his record get broken by another male.
But both these records are bogus. The only meaningful record in women's bench press (whatever the number) was set by a woman (whoever she was). That was Silverburg's point, and he made it irrefutably. The rules for entry in the women's division should be that you are a biological woman. I know that's a radical proposition in today's world, but it's still the right one.
