Injured New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard has bowed out of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games at peace with her performance and happy with her reception from a supportive Australian crowd.

The 40-year-old transgender athlete, hot favourite to win gold on Monday, twisted and injured her left elbow in her final snatch attempt.

She couldn't take part in the clean and jerk.

Hubbard had been going for a Games snatch record of 132kg, but her determination to produce her absolute best cost her the win..

She defended the decision to go for a big final snatch lift when she was already well ahead of her opponents.

"I believe that to be true to sport, you really have to try to be the best that you can, and I'm happy with the decisions I made."

Hubbard's presence at the Games had triggered controversy, with opponents claiming she holds an unfair advantage having competed at national level as a man before transitioning in her mid-30s.

She complies with regulations on transgender athletes laid down by the International Weightlifting Federation and the International Olympic Committee.

Hubbard, who received warm applause when she was introduced to the crowd and vocal encouragement at each attempt, said she had wanted to deliver a top-tier performance.

"The crowd was absolutely magnificent - it felt just like a big embrace, and I wanted to give them something that reflected the best I could do."

Hubbard said she had been uncertain about exactly how the crowd to a would respond to a transgender athlete.

"It would be untrue to say that the thought never crossed my mind," she said.

"But there was no indication at all today that they were anything other than absolutely fantastic - a real credit to the Australian people and the broader sporting community."

Hubbard was still unsure as to the extent of her injury, or its long-term implications on her weightlifting future.

"We don't know the exact details of the injury - it seems likely that I have ruptured a ligament and there's some fairly significant tissue damage."

Hubbard said she'd be taking things day by day, and was unlikely to make decisions around the possibility of a bid for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics any time soon.

"The nature of sport means that things don't aways go your way, and it is what it is.

"I think you have to be true to yourself and I hope that in this case that's what I've done."

- NZ Newswire