Australian swimming champion Emily Seebohm is 100 per cent relieved biological women will no longer have to compete against transgender athletes after a landmark decision was made – and admitted she was previously afraid to speak out.
The International Swimming Federation (FINA) announced on Sunday that it is changing its policy to allow transgender women to compete in the organization’s female races only if they complete their transition by the age of 12.
Instead, an “open category” will be established for transgender athletes to compete in events such as the World Swimming Championships, World Aquatics Championships and the World Swimming Cup.
Seebohm, a four-time Olympian, said she was glad a decision had finally been made, adding that many athletes were too scared to comment on the matter.
“It’s such a tough subject, nobody wants to be the first to say something because you’re scared of the abandonment culture,” she told the Today Show on Monday morning.
“Now this is such a thing, if you say something wrong, you’re done.
“It was a question when an Australian athlete said something, it was like let’s stand together because we all feel the same, it’s just that we were all too scared to be the first to say something. ”
Australian swimming champion Emily Seebohm supported the decision to ban transgender athletes from competing with biological women
When asked by co-host Ally Langdon if she was relieved by FINA’s decision, Seebohm said “100 per cent,” adding she wanted the sport to be inclusive for everyone.
“It makes it easier for athletes to know what’s going on, what the competition will be like and that the sport can continue to be as fair as it can be and inclusive for everyone,” the swimmer said.
“I think there will probably be people upset about this decision, but it was made by the majority of people.”
Australian swimmer Cate Campbell also supported the decision and said in an impassioned speech: “Without fair competition, the sport in its elitist sense would cease to exist”.
The International Swimming Federation (FINA) announced on Sunday that it is changing its policy so that transgender women can only compete in the organization’s women’s races if they complete their transition by the age of 12 (pictured is trans swimmer Lia Thomas).
Campbell said she wanted trans athletes to be part of the broader swimming community but said the “cornerstone of fairness” must be upheld.
“And it pains me that this part of my role can hurt, anger and potentially alienate people from an already marginalized (transgender) community,” she said.
“There is no denying that men and women are physiologically different.
“Women who have fought long and hard to be included in sport and seen as equals can only do so because of the distinction between gender categories.
“Removing this distinction would be to the detriment of all athletes.”
But not everyone agreed, and Australian Olympian Maddie Groves lashed out at Campbell’s comments, saying she was confident a mixed-gender child would feel accepted in the sport.
“So you forbid them to compete with their own kind? Do you agree to ostracizing an already marginalized group? Genuine acceptance,” Groves tweeted in response.
“There are already gendered swimmers and I suspect they don’t feel very accepted (at the moment). Shame on all who supported this discriminatory and unscientific decision.’
Groves, who has won two Olympic silver medals, withdrew from the selection process for last year’s Tokyo Games, citing a misogynistic culture in swimming.
Former Australian swimmer Maddie Groves criticized the decision to ban transgender athletes from competitions, saying “shame on everyone” who supported it
FINA will spend the next six months determining how the open category will work.
“We must protect the rights of our athletes to compete, but we must also protect competitive fairness in our events, particularly in the women’s category at FINA competitions,” FINA President Husain Al-Musallam said in a statement.
The decision means American trans swimmer Lia Thomas, 23, can no longer compete against women after breaking records and sparking a heated debate over whether or not trans athletes should be allowed to compete.
Thomas made the switch in 2019 when she was competing for the University of Pennsylvania and began dominating her competition in freestyle events – leading many to complain that she has an unfair physical advantage.
Ben Fordham also commented on the decision on Monday, saying there was “finally some sanity”.
Australian swimmer Cate Campbell said she wanted trans athletes to be part of the broader swimming community but said the “cornerstone of fairness” must be upheld
The 2GB presenter said if Thomas was allowed to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics, Australia’s own swimming star Ariarne Titmus “would probably have been beaten”.
“This isn’t about excluding people, it’s about fairness,” he said on his breakfast program, noting that trans-celebrity figure Caitlyn Jenner also called the matter unfair.
“It takes a lot of homework to figure out how this is supposed to work, but it’s a start.”
FINA President Husain Al-Musallam said: “We must protect the rights of our athletes to compete, but we must also protect competitive fairness in our events, particularly in the women’s category of FINA competitions.”
The decision to exclude transgender athletes from FINA events was taken during the federation’s Extraordinary General Congress, as the World Championships are being held in Budapest.
Members of the organization heard from a transgender task force, made up of medical, legal and sporting leaders, that first met to discuss the issue after the International Olympic Committee in November asked individual sports federations to provide guidance for transgender athletes to create.
Lia Thomas has broken a number of records in women’s swimming for the NCAA
The directive passed with a 71 percent majority after being presented to the voting members of 152 national federations who gathered for the Congress in the Puskas Arena.
About 15 percent voted no to the eligibility guidelines in the men’s and women’s competition categories, while 13 percent abstained.
“I don’t want an athlete to be told that they can’t compete at the highest level,” Al-Musallam said today at his organization’s convention.
“I’m going to set up a working group to set up an open category at our meetings.
“We will be the first association to do that.”
Last month, Thomas shrugged off concerns about their seemingly unfair advantage.
She said some “cisgender” women — a term used to describe someone whose gender identity is the same as the one they were given at birth — have more testosterone, larger hands and feet, and are taller than hers competitors.
Thomas also insisted she didn’t cross over to perform better in the pool.
“Trans people don’t go into athletics. We’re shifting to being happy and authentic and being ourselves,” she said.
“Moving to gain an advantage doesn’t play any part in our decisions,” she said.
“I don’t need anyone’s permission to be myself.”