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The world’s governing body for swimming, FINA, announced on Sunday that it had voted to restrict transgender athletes from competing in elite women’s competitions.
The policy, which takes effect on Monday, requires transgender swimmers to complete their transition by the age of 12 to compete in women’s competitions and keep their circulating testosterone below 2.5 nanomoles per liter. This effectively prohibits most transgender women from leading swimming events, including the Olympics; The International Olympic Committee postpones each sports federation to determine the eligibility of the athlete.
FINA is working to create an “open” category for swimmers whose gender identity differs from their gender.
The decision was made by 71 per cent of the votes of the 152 eligible national federations at a congress held during the World Cup in Budapest.
“FINA’s approach to this policy has been comprehensive, scientifically sound and inclusive,” Brent Nowitzki, FINA’s chief executive, told the BBC. “And the important thing is that FINA’s approach emphasizes fairness of competition.”
The rules come three months after Leah Thomas of the University of Pennsylvania became the first openly transgender woman to win an NCAA I Division swimming title, finishing first in the 500-yard freestyle. Its rise has intensified the debate over the place of transgender swimmers in the sport. Thomas recently said he hopes to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Hundreds of swimmers signed a letter in support of Thomas and all transgender and non-binary swimmers. But some of Thomas ‘teammates and their parents wrote anonymously that while they supported Thomas’ transition, they thought her race against other women was unfair.
FINA plans to use the next six months to create an open category for competitions.
“FINA will always welcome every athlete,” said FINA President Hussein Al-Musalam. “Creating an open category will mean that everyone has the opportunity to compete at the elite level. This has not been done so far, so FINA will have to be the leader. I want all athletes to feel involved in being able to develop ideas during this process. ”
The decision is a blow to transgender athletes and their supporters, including former Harvard swimmer Schuyler Baylar, the first transgender man to compete as a man in NCAA Division I sports. He said in a text message that he was “devastated” by the message.
“This decision requires trans girls to pass 12 years ago, but the United States has seen nearly 100 bills banning trans children from playing youth sports and criminalizing transition resources for children, making it impossible for them to play sports of any kind,” he added. Baylar, who is a friend and adviser to Thomas. “FINA’s decision does not preserve the integrity of women’s sport – it requires harmful police control of women’s bodies and the continued degradation and transfer of other trans people who are already experiencing mass discrimination in this world.”
Athlete Ally, an LGBTQ advocacy group that wrote a letter of support for Thomas in February, also disagrees with the policy.
“FINA’s new eligibility criteria for transgender athletes and athletes with intersex variations are discriminatory, harmful, unscientific and inconsistent with IOC principles for 2021,” the tweet said. “If we really want to protect women’s sport, we need to include all women.”
Sharon Davis, a former British swimmer, tweeted her support for FINA’s decision.
“I can’t describe to you how proud I am of my sport … that I do science, I ask athletes / coaches and I stand up for fair sports for women,” she wrote. “Swimming will always welcome everyone, no matter how you identify them, but justice is the cornerstone of the sport.
Swimming is joining other sports that have recently created stricter restrictions for transgender athletes. On Thursday, the cycling governing body, the International Cycling Union, extended from one to two years the time that gender-change riders must wait before competing.
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