Transgender swimmers will no longer be allowed to compete in women’s competitions. The World Swimming Federation decided that – and thus made a decision in a long-simmering discussion.
The discussion about transgender athletes has been smoldering in swimming for some time: Can they take part in women’s races after a gender reassignment from man to woman? At an extraordinary congress in Budapest, the world swimming association Fina has now made a decision. Accordingly, transgender women are no longer allowed to start in women’s races.
At the congress, 71.5 percent of Fina delegates voted in favor of the new regulation. Exceptions are only permitted if the gender reassignment was completed before the age of twelve. In most countries, however, this is not yet possible at this age. “This is not intended as an encouragement to have a sex change at the age of twelve,” said a Fina spokesman. “Scientists say there’s an advantage if the adjustment happens after puberty. That’s unfair.”
Swimming: Open competition planned for transgender athletes
Instead, there should be an “open competition” for transgender athletes. “I don’t want an athlete to be told they can’t compete at the highest level,” said Fina President Husain Al-Musallam. Swimming would be the first sport with such a category.
The question of which competitions transgender athletes could compete in is particularly relevant to transgender women. Critics argue that these have a biological advantage over the competition. Others counter that physical equality can never be achieved anyway. The discussion had picked up speed, especially in connection with the American Lia Thomas. Thomas swam as a man until 2019, then underwent hormone therapy and in March became the first trans swimmer to win a collegiate championship title.
It is not yet clear when the open competition in swimming will be introduced. A few details still have to be clarified, according to Fina. The World Swimming Federation has set up a working group that will deal with what the new category should look like in concrete terms.
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Source: Stern
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