April Hutchinson Does The Heavy Lifting
The Canadian powerlifter encourages everyone to speak up about the need for women's only sports
Canadian powerlifter April Hutchinson
is the North American deadlift record holder in the 84+ kilo weight class, but her strength has really been tested since she started speaking out about having to compete with trans women— biological men who identify as women. The gap between male and female performance in sports like track is 10% to 12%—more than half a lap in the three-and-a-half lap 1500 meter race—but in powerlifting which measures static strength, the gap is between 43% and 60+%. Another planet. Yet when Hutchinson tried to point out this glaring unfairness she met with silence from the Canadian Powerlifting Union, and most media other than Fox News. At the same time, Minnesota transgender powerlifter JayCee Cooper, who was born male but identifies as female, won her lawsuit against USA Powerlifting, saying the organization’s policy of not allowing trans women to compete in the women’s category was discriminatory. Cooper’s case was covered by NBC, CBS, Fox, MSN, the NY Post, and others.
I spoke with Hutchinson from her home in Toronto.
What is the Canadian Power Union’s policy regarding trans women?
It’s pretty simple. You show up with a government ID—driver’s license, passport, whatever—and the sex that’s on there is accepted, no questions asked.
Are there any requirements for testosterone reduction for those who are male but competing as female?
No. And, I mean, you can change the sex on your driver's license by filling out a form. It literally takes a day.
You're the North American deadlift record holder. How much did you lift?
My max lift is 510 pounds. I’m in the top weight class for women, 84+ kilos.
And what is the men’s deadlift record?
For a man my size, in the 700s [pounds] probably. My bench press is 185; men’s is 300 to 400 [pounds]. For bench press, that’s pure upper body strength, the difference between men and women is about 60%. It’s crazy. Powerlifting is just under MMA in terms of the difference between men and women.
Have you had to compete against a trans identified male?
I was supposed to at Nationals but I didn’t show up as a way to protest.
A common comment I see from observers is that women, female athletes, should just boycott and refuse to play. Do you think that would force sports organizers to address policies that allow biological males in women’s sports?
That’s actually our biggest pet peeve! If women don't show up, or if a team doesn't show up because there’s a trans woman on the other team, the other team wins. Powerlifting is an individual sport—you perform for yourself. If there are seven women competing and one trans person, and the seven women are no-shows, the trans person wins the gold medal. A boycott is not going to stop him from competing; it’s actually going to make it easier for him.
Is there a mixed sex category in powerlifting?
Yes, the open category.
But JayCee Cooper [trans identified man who won a lawsuit to compete in the women’s category] apparently didn’t want to compete in that category.
Their response is that that would be outing us. The thing is, we all know who they are. They’ve outed themselves. [In the open division] they’ll be number 200, not number 1, like Lia Thomas [trans swimmer who moved up dramatically in rank post-transition]. They’re narcissistic men that need attention nonstop. They’re going into it to be number 1 and to get attention.
Why did you decide to start speaking out about unfairness?
There is a trans guy in my weight category. Back in 2021, I met this person online named Ann. So I was thinking this person was a girl. He was asking me questions and we were friends, and after a year of talking online he told me he was a man [transgender]. I immediately said, You shouldn’t be lifting [in the women’s category]. That was the end of our friendship. He blocked me. But I wasn’t just going to let that go. I was going to raise hell. I wrote to my federation and got no response. It seemed like no one cared. I felt so alone and depressed. For two years I didn't sleep much. It really affected my mental health. I didn't know who to turn to so I started researching online and found ICONS [Independent Council on Women’s Sports]. Thank god I found them. They said, We’ll help you. You’re not alone.
I guess it all goes back to pre-2019. I’m a recovering alcoholic. I was ill, I tried to commit suicide and woke up with a bunch of tubes in my body. The day I got out of rehab, I started powerlifting. It helped save my life. We need to emphasize this, the mental health side. The judge in JayCee Cooper’s case was looking at his mental health, saying, Oh he’s had these struggles, he’s suicidal. Well guess what—we all have personal stories. We all have demons. I think it’s particularly common in top athletes. His [Cooper’s] mental health is no more important than my mental health or anyone else’s. We have to push the fact that this [allowing trans identified males in women’s sports] is killing women’s mental health. Now we have a perfect example of case law. I might as well play that game too—base this on feelings not facts, even though we have all the science on our side too.
Would you really sue your federation?
I wouldn't have to think twice about that one. I’d sue them in a minute. I’ve already been talking to ICONS and ICFSport [International Consortium on Female Sport] about how do we get the money, how do we get lawyers. I’ve used my social media to pressure my federation. In fact, the CPU is having a meeting about changing their [transgender] policy, and said they’d be announcing something soon. I hope it's something positive.
Do other female lifters feel the way you do?
That's the thing—there are a lot. My friend in BC [British Columbia] competed against Ann and didn’t know he was a guy until I told her. She said, I thought so! You can’t make this stuff up. I get messages on the daily saying Thank you thank you. Gay people, straight people, I have a friend who is a detransitioner who supports me, even some trans people support me. The only people who don’t are people who say a trans woman is a woman. That's pretty much the end of the conversation. What do you say to that?
Have you lost sponsors or gotten backlash?
I actually gained athletic apparel. A company sent me a couple thousand dollars of clothes. I think we will get more sponsors because sponsors will want women who will stand up for real women.
If boycotting is not an effective way to protect women’s only sports, how do we do that?
I think men and women need to keep speaking up. It’s not always easy. After one of the first times I spoke out, someone called me a bigot. I thought, Oh my gosh I’m going to lose my job. People will hate me. But when I talked to Linda [Blade, author of Unsporting] said, It’s just a word. They're trying to silence you; they don't have any proof so they turn to names. You can’t be scared. People need to speak up and educate others. What’s the worst that’s going to happen? You’re going to be called a name—oh wow. You can reach out to women’s groups like ICONS or ICFSport, but to make a difference, you have to speak up. People used to message me behind the scenes and say how they agreed with me, and at first I thought that was okay, but then it started to annoy me. Because if you feel that way and you don’t speak up, you’re part of the problem.