Transgender competitive swimmer Lia Thomas is officially banned from competing against women after a decision made by FINA officials.
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The decision was announced Sunday by FINA president Husnain Al-Musallam who stated that the organization is changing its policies so transgender women can only compete in women’s races if they completed their transition at the age of 12. Additionally, the athletes would have to prove that they have continuously suppressed their testosterone levels throughout the years as reported by the Daily Mail.
‘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 is also planning to open a new category where transgender athletes can compete against each other in events such as the World Aquatics Championships, Swimming World Cup, and World Swimming Championships.
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The new category will be discussed among a group that will make plans for the next six months. ‘I do not want any athlete to be told they cannot compete at the highest level. I will set up a working group to set up an open category at our meets. We will be the first federation to do that,’ Al-Musallam said in a follow-up statement.
Al-Musallam’s decision was passed with a 71 percent majority after it was presented to 152 members of national federations at Puskas Arena. Meanwhile, 15 percent voted no to the new policy while 13 percent removed themselves from the voting process.
The new decision will affect Thomas’ eligibility
The decision made by FINA will affect Thomas’ chance of competing in the Olympics after she broke several records which caused controversy within the United States as people argued she has an unfair physical advantage over other competitors. During an interview with Sports Illustrated in March, she reacted to the backlash and said she deserves to compete in women’s sports despite the public outcry.
“The very simple answer is that I’m not a man. I’m a woman, so I belong on the women’s team. Trans people deserve that same respect every other athlete gets. I just want to show trans kids and younger trans athletes that they’re not alone. They don’t have to choose between who they are and the sport they love.”
Thomas also said she always felt uncomfortable in her body before her transition and experienced body dysmorphia during her college athletic career as a biological man.
“I was very depressed. I got to the point where I couldn’t go to school. I was missing classes,” she says. “My sleep schedule was super messed up. Some days I couldn’t get out of bed. I knew at that moment I needed to do something to address this. But in that depressive, very struggling state of mind, it’s hard to make progress when so much of my energy was trying to get through each day.”