The first sports to ban transgender swimmers from female races is elite swimming, even though they were born during male puberty.
FINA (the international federation sport federation of swimming) has created an “open category” that will allow transgender swimmers to participate in their class.
Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer, is currently competing in the women’s section at swimming meets. She has broken women’s records, causing uproar, with some claiming that she has an unfair advantage over her competitors.
After hearing a report by a transgender task team comprising top legal, medical and sporting figures, FINA’s extraordinary General Congress in Budapest took the decision to approve the move.
Sharron Davies, an Olympic swimming legend, was awarded the MBE for equality in sports. She has also spoken out against transgender women in water races.
She wrote: ‘I can’t tell you how proud I am of my sport @fina & @fina_president for doing the science, asking the athletes/coaches and standing up for fair sport for females.
“Swimming is open to all, regardless of their identity but fairness and respect are the foundations of any sport.”
Her tweet was in response to her own post from Friday, which read: ‘Once a male has gone through puberty there will always be a large retained performance advantage & bone structure.
“Why should we expect females accept competition with an already known disadvantage? The testosterone in females is not lower than that of men. You must compete with your sex.
Petra Schneider (East German swimmer) won gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Davies was denied gold.
International swimming Federation announced on Sunday that elite swimming will ban transgender women from all races except those in female puberty. Lia Thomas is shown here as a transgender swimmer.
Husain Al Musallam, President of FINA, made the announcement on Sunday afternoon.
Al-Musallam stated today that he did not wish for any athlete to hear they could’t compete at the top level.
I will establish a group of working people to create an open category during our meet.
“We will be first federation that does this.”
Transgender competitions must have been completed by 12 years to comply with the new policy.
After being presented to the 152 members of national federations who were entitled to vote, the policy was approved with an approximate 71% majority.
Transgender rights have become an important topic in sports as they seek to promote inclusivity and avoid unfair advantages.
After winning the 500-yard freestyle for women at the University of Pennsylvania, Lia Thomas from the University of Pennsylvania became the first transgender NCAA champion.
Sharron Davies, an Olympic swimming legend, was awarded the MBE for equality in sports. She has also spoken out against transgender athletes in women’s race swims.
Thomas competed for three years with the Pennsylvania men’s swimming team before beginning hormone replacement therapy in spring 2019.
Many doctors believed that Lia Thomas, and other trans-female athletes, would always be in an advantage for some sports due to their inability to undo puberty. This was because testosterone had flooded their male bodies.
Last month, Thomas said some ‘cisgender’ women, which is a term used to describe someone whose gender identity is the same as when they were born’, have more testosterone, bigger hands and feet and are taller than their competitors – so why should she banned when they aren’t.
She stated, “I don’t need anybody’s permission to be me,”
She said that anyone saying she’s not allowed to compete in the sport of sex as a woman, is transphobic.
“You cannot go halfway” and say, “I support transgender people, but only up to a point.”
“If you are a supporter of transwomen, and they have met all N.C.A.A.A. requirements. It is not possible to say that I can support transwomen if they have met all the N.C.A.A. requirements.
“Trans women aren’t a threat to womens’s sport,” she stated.
Many shared their thoughts on Sharron Davies’ tweet celebrating the news. One commented: “Finally, someone in sports has some commonsense. The example of this man is needed by other sports.
One person said, “It should also be in all amateur sport as well as elite sports,” and another added, “Now for other sporting governing boards.