Swimming

International Governing Board Makes Stunning Decision

The international governing body for swimming, FINA, voted on June 19th to embrace a brand-new policy restricting most biological guys from contending in elite women’s competitors. The company stated it will likewise investigate developing an “open category” to permit athletes to compete”without regard to their sex, their legal gender, or their gender identity.”

The FINA World Congress heard speeches from professional athletes, human rights, and medical experts authorities prior to enacting favor of the brand-new policy by 71.5%.

The governing body’s choice will end the Olympic hopes of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who broke several ladies’s swim records as a University of Pennsylvania student-athlete.

“Because of the performance gap that emerges at puberty between biological males as a group and biological females as a group, separate sex competition is necessary…” FINA wrote in its newly adopted policy.

“Without eligibility standards based on biological sex or sex-linked traits, we are very unlikely to see biological females in finals, on podiums, or in championship positions; and in sports and events involving collisions and projectiles, biological female athletes would be at greater risk of injury,” the agency stated.

FINA, which the International Olympic Committee acknowledges for supervising water competitors, will now need biological males who want to contend as females to  “have not experienced any part of male puberty beyond Tanner Stage 2 or before age 12, whichever is later.”

Female-to-male transgender professional athletes have the ability to complete as males in FINA competitors and are likewise able to contend as ladies and set women’s records so long as they are not utilizing specific hormonal agents.

“We have to protect the rights of our athletes to compete, but we also have to protect competitive fairness at our events, especially the women’s category at FINA competitions,” FINA President Husain Al-Musallam said in a press release.

“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 added.

Thomas informed “Good Morning America” in May about strategies to continue contending in order to make it to the 2024 United States Olympic Team Trials.

“It’s been a goal of mine to swim at Olympic trials for a very long time, and I would love to see that through,” Thomas said at the time.

FINA’s choice was commemorated by professional athletes online.

Transgender Olympian Caitlyn Jenner tweeted: “It worked! I took a lot of heat – but what’s fair is fair! If you go through male puberty you should not be able to take medals away from females. Period.”

Olympic swimming competitor Sharron Davies posted: “I can’t tell you how proud I am of my sport @fina &  @fina_president for doing the science, asking the athletes/coaches, and standing up for fair sport for females. Swimming will always welcome everyone no matter how you identify but fairness is the cornerstone of sport.”

H/T JustTheNews

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Previous Article
cold case

Human Remains found: 45yr Old Cold Case

Next Article
Facebook

Facebook Under Major Fire as Child Research Info Emerges

Related Posts