Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard injured in competition

New Zealand's Laurel Hubbard reacts after failing to make a lift in the snatch of the women's +90kg weightlifting final at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on April 9, 2018. (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

GOLD COAST, Australia - They said she was unbeatable.

They being the critics, but what they didn't mention was that New Zealand's transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard was just as vulnerable to injury as any other competitor.

The 40-year-old Hubbard withdrew from Monday's over 90-kilogram division after hurting her left elbow attempting a Commonwealth Games record lift of 132 kilograms in the snatch.

She had already cleared 120 kilograms with her first lift and was well ahead of Samoa's Feagaiga Stowers when she over-extended, and the bar travelled behind her shoulders.

Hubbard's presence, and status as gold-medal favourite, was one of the more contentious topics of the Commonwealth Games.

Since Hubbard became eligible to compete in international events at the start of last year, her involvement has polarized views in weightlifting.