Few Americans may have heard of Canadian powerlifter Anne Andres, but the record-smashing athlete is quickly emerging as the north-of-the-border version of Lia Thomas.
The 40-year-old Calgary native ignited an outcry earlier this month by lifting 463 pounds more than the closest competitor to win a women’s regional masters’ championship, setting multiple Canadian records and unofficial world records.
Powerlifter April Hutchinson, once dubbed “Canada’s Strongest Woman,” said there’s a reason for that success: Andres, who identifies as a woman, is a biological male.
“What Anne is doing is unheard of in women’s powerlifting, but this is a 40-year-old, 260-pound man,” Hutchinson told The Washington Times. “He took all the records. He has all of them.”
At the Canadian Powerlifting Union’s Western Canadian championships, Andres lifted a combined 1,317 pounds in three lifts — squat, bench press and deadlift — easily defeating second-place finisher SuJan Gill, who lifted a combined 854 pounds.
The Aug. 10-13 meet in Brandon, Manitoba, was Andres’ first in the masters’ category for athletes over age 40, and Andres set Canadian records in the squat, bench and deadlift for competitors over 84 kilograms, or 185 pounds.
SEE ALSO: Transgender swimmers to be included in the trial of an open category at competitions
Andres also set unofficial all-time masters’ women’s world records for the deadlift and for total weight lifted, according to Fitness Volt, a strength-sports publication.
The record-breaking showing prompted an outcry from advocates of single-sex sports, including NCAA 12-time All-American swimmer Riley Gaines, who accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of having a “radical disdain for women (and reality).”
“Andres’ record is a mediocre lift by a mediocre male powerlifter because the Canadian Powerlifting Union is discriminating against female athletes,” Gaines said in a TikTok post.
Andres, who posts almost daily on Instagram, responded to the win by emphasizing the event’s camaraderie, saying “I got to lift with friends from across Canada. Friends who welcome me and love me and want me to be there.”
Two days later, Andres took a shot at critics. “It’s mind blowing how people can go out of their way to save women’s sports when nobody is asking them to,” Andres said. “If you are a terf, just go be a terf [trans-exclusionary radical feminist]. Admit you are a sh— human being, stop pretending to be an ally.”
At a time when international athletic federations are tightening up their rules on transgender participation in the interest of fairness, the Canadian Powerlifting Union has moved in the opposite direction.
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The federation issued an updated policy earlier this year allowing athletes to compete on the basis of gender self-identification without any requirement for hormone suppression. The organization also refuses to disclose any information about a competitor’s gender identity.
“Exceptions could be made if a sport organization is able to provide evidence that demonstrates hormone therapy is a reasonable and bona fide requirement (i.e., a necessary response to a legitimate need) to create a fair playing field at the high-performance level,” said the policy.
The federation may have little choice in the matter. Canada’s Bill C-16, which passed in 2017, made it illegal to discriminate based on “gender identity and gender expression.”
“I’ve been writing letters, other women have written letters,” said Hutchinson, who has refused to compete against Andres. “People wrote letters before Anne competed [earlier this month], saying, ‘Look, I’m going to drop out, I’m going to quit, if you let Anne lift,’ and they did nothing. They completely ignored us. And I actually got threatened with suspension for speaking out. That’s how it is here in Canada. It’s pretty crazy.”
Hutchinson acknowledged that she and Andres have “a lot of history.”
“I’m one of the first people who knew he was a biological male before anyone else because he confessed it to me,” Hutchinson said. “He said, ‘Actually, I’m a man,’ and I said, ‘You shouldn’t be powerlifting with women, that’s completely unfair.’ And that’s what broke off our friendship.”
Andres said in an April post that “a coordinated attack from anti-trans groups, spearheaded by the hateful messaging of April Hutchinson, has made my life hell.”
“She organized hate groups to go to nationals and protest me. She has repeatedly called me a man, and has me blocked. She has never once been respectful,” Andres said.
@JustinTrudeau ’s radical disdain for women (and reality) in effect
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) August 14, 2023
New national and unofficial world record for trans identifying male, Anne Andres pic.twitter.com/E46860L14P
Andres, who reportedly transitioned to female after age 20, dominated in the open category before aging out earlier this month. The lifter won nine out of 11 competitions, and notched one second-place and one third-place finish, from 2019-2023, as shown on Open Powerlifting.
How would Andres fare in men’s powerlifting? Hutchinson said the lifter would not even crack the top 5,000, a point made in March by Avi Silverberg, Team Canada Powerlifting’s head coach.
Silverberg, who didn’t bother to shave his beard, entered a women’s powerlifting event in Alberta, where he bench-pressed 370 pounds, easily beating Andres’ record of 275 pounds, in an apparent statement against the federation’s transgender policy.
A few weeks later, Andres posted a workout video with the caption: “Here is [today’s] reminder; I’m not strong because I’m a tranny.”
“I’m strong because I show up every session, even when I shouldn’t, and do the work,” Andres said. “I didn’t magically get this bench or deadlift because I randomly changed sex like a freaking frog. I got it because I work harder than most people out there.”
Not all women’s powerlifters oppose Andres’ participation. Canadian athletes such as powerlifter Erica Lang have posted comments in Andres’ defense on Instagram.
“Dear transphobic folks, No one has ever asked me what I think and I’m in the masters women 100+,” said Lang in a comment last week. “Quit pretending like any of y’all even care. Anne is my friend and she’s a good woman. And OMG a freaking amazing lifter.”
Powerlifting is not an Olympic sport, but Andres would presumably be a strong contender at the world championships. The International Powerlifting Federation’s masters’ championship is scheduled for Oct. 8-15 in Mongolia, although it’s unclear whether Andres plans to enter.
World Athletics, World Aquatics, the Union for International Cycling, and the International Weightlifting Federation are among the sports bodies that have enacted stricter eligibility requirements for women’s sports since Thomas burst onto the scene last year.
Thomas became the first male-born swimmer to win an NCAA Division I women’s title, drawing cheers from transgender-inclusion advocates while galvanizing opposition from defenders of sex-based sports.
The Washington Times has reached out to the Canadian Powerlifting Union for comment.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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