The world governing body of swimming has voted to effectively ban transgender athletes from participating in elite female races.
FINA will look into the possibility of establishing an “open” category for them at some events as part of their new policy.
The new policy was approved by a majority of approximately 71% after being presented to members of 152 voting national federations who had gathered for the congress at the Puskas Arena.
It will require transgender competitors to complete their transition at age 12 in order to compete in women’s competitions.
A FINA statement said that transgender male-to-female athletes will only be able to compete if “they can establish, to FINA’s comfortable satisfaction, that they have not experienced any part of male puberty beyond the Tanner 2 stage. (from puberty) or before the age of 12, whichever is later “.
FINA President Husain Al-Musallam said: “We need to protect the rights of our athletes to compete, but we also need to protect competitive fairness at our events, especially the women’s category at FINA competitions.
“FINA will always welcome all athletes. Creating an open category will mean that everyone has the opportunity to compete at an elite level. This has not been done before, so FINA will have to lead. I want all athletes to feel included so they can develop ideas during this process. “
Transgender rights have become the subject of debate, as sports seek to balance inclusion while ensuring that there are no unfair advantages.
The conversation intensified after University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas became the first NCAA transgender champion in Division I history after winning the 500-yard women’s freestyle earlier this year. .
She followed New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, becoming the first transgender athlete to compete in the Tokyo Olympics last year.
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2:17 First transgender athlete selected for the Games
FINA’s new policy also opens up eligibility to those who have “complete androgen insensitivity and therefore could not experience male puberty.”
Athletes who have had “male puberty suppressed from Tanner stage 2 or before age 12, whichever is later, and have since continually kept their serum (or plasma) testosterone levels below 2.5 nmol / L “. they are also allowed to compete in women’s races, FINA said.
He added that transgender female-to-male athletes (transgender men) are fully eligible to compete in male swimming competitions.
Athlete Ally, an LGBTQ sports advocacy group, responded to the ad and said the eligibility criteria were “discriminatory.”
They posted on Twitter: “[It] it is discriminatory, harmful, unscientific and does not conform to the principles of the IOC of 2021. If we really want to protect women’s sports, we must include all women. “
But Sports Secretary Nadine Dorries has expressed support for the FINA movement.
The councilor also stressed that “it is important that those trans women who want to compete can compete” having their own category.
When asked about Fina’s decision at LBC, he said, “Yeah, I think that’s absolutely the right decision they’ve made, and I’ll be encouraging other sports (to do the same).
“It’s unacceptable for trans women to compete in women’s sports.”
And former British Olympian Sharron Davies tweeted her joy at the news.
She said: “I can’t tell you how proud I am of my sport @fina and @fina_president for doing science, asking athletes / coaches and advocating for fair sport for women. Swimming will always welcome everyone, no matter how you are, identify, but equity is the cornerstone of sport. “
In May, International Olympic Committee Chairman Thomas Bach said sport cannot have a single approach to transgender inclusion.
Controversy over the participation of transgender athletes in women’s categories has reached headlines in cycling, swimming, weightlifting and other sports over the past year.
Olympic cycling champion Katie Archibald last month criticized her sport’s governing body, the UCI, for its transgender policies, with trans athlete Emily Bridges finally excluded from the British Omnium Championships.
Image: Lia Thomas became the first NCAA transgender champion in Division I history
Lord Coe, president of World Athletics, said the integrity of women’s sport was “fragile” if the federations were not right.
There have been calls to create an open category to which transgender athletes could enter.
Bach said the IOC has helped and will continue to help sports make “science-based decisions”.
He told a news conference in May: “There is no one-size-fits-all solution. I think we all agree that it’s about creating fair competition. At the grassroots level, sport should be inclusive, everyone should have access to sport.
“When it comes to competition as a sport, we need to ensure fair competition. That means discovering sport by sport, even discipline by discipline, where there may be an unfair advantage.”