Dylan Bettencourt
The world swimming governing body Fina has announced that transgender athletes who went through a male puberty process will no longer compete in women’s competitions.
Fina also revealed that they are working towards creating an “open” category for swimmers whose gender differs from their birth sex.
The vote was agreed by 71% of Fina members and was labelled as “only the first step towards full inclusion” for transgender athletes.
“Fina’s approach in drafting this policy was comprehensive, science-based and inclusive, and, importantly, Fina’s approach emphasised competitive fairness,” said Brent Nowicki, the governing body’s executive director.
The decision was made at a general congress meeting at the ongoing World Championships in Budapest.
President of Fina Husain Al-Musallam said the governing body is attempting to protect athletes through inclusion and fairness.
“Fina will always welcome every athlete. The creation of an open category will mean that everybody has the opportunity to compete at an elite level.
“This has not been done before, so Fina will need to lead the way. I want all athletes to feel included in being able to develop ideas during this process,” he said.
American transgender college athlete Lia Thomas was in the spotlight earlier in the year for dominating a women’s race, breaking world records in the process.
The new policy will mean she can no longer compete in the same category, leaving Thomas in limbo regarding the next Olympics in 2024.
LGBTQ+ advocate group Athlete Ally said the new rules are “discriminatory, harmful, unscientific and not in line with the 2021 International Olympic Committee (IOC) principles”.
“The eligibility criteria for the women’s category as it is laid out in the policy polices the bodies of all women, and will not be enforceable without seriously violating the privacy and human rights of any athlete looking to compete in the women’s category,” said Anne Lieberman, the group’s director of policy and programmes.
