FINA open to a category of gender-neutral athletes

I don’t want an athlete to be told they can’t compete at the highest levelAl-Musallam said at an extraordinary congress of the body held during the World Championships in Hungary.

I will set up a working group to create an open category during our competitions. We will be the first federation to do sohe added.

FINA’s decision comes as swimming has been rocked by a controversy over American transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. The 22-year-old student, born male, had become the first transgender swimmer to win a university title in the spring.

His victory in mid-March in the 500-yard final had sparked a wide debate, his detractors believing that having competed as a man in the past, Lia Thomas enjoyed an unfair physiological advantage.

Fresh off her title as world champion in the 200m medley, her compatriot Alex Walsh cautiously hailed FINA’s initiative.

I am happy that FINA and the various federations are not launching investigations, but reassessing the rules. I don’t really know what the right solution is to keep things fair, but obviously I want everyone to be able to compete and as long as they find a way to do that I’m happy. I believe the goal of FINA and what they are going to do is what is best for everyoneWalsh said.

A momentum of inclusion

At its Congress, FINA adopted a new policy ofinclusiveness, which will effectively exclude many transgender swimmers from elite women’s swimming. The federation, explained its chief executive, Brent Nowicki, is determined to maintain separate competitions for men and women.

FINA recognizes that some individuals may not be able to compete in the category that best matches their legal gender alignment or gender identityhe said.

” Each of us must always, within the limits of the principles of equity, ensure the inclusion of all individuals regardless of their gender orientation. “

Under these rules, the men’s competition would be open to all.

On the other hand, athletes who were born male and become female will not be able to compete in the FINA female categories or set female world records, unless they became female before puberty, if they can establish that they have not experienced any manifestation of male pubertyin Newicki’s terms.

An unfair decision for Athlete Ally, an advocacy group for LGBTQ athletes, who reacted on Twitter. FINA’s new eligibility criteria for transgender athletes and athletes with intersex variations are discriminatory, harmful, unscientific and inconsistent with IOC 2021 principles. If we are serious about protecting women’s sport, we must include all the women.

The IOC Bypass

Last year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued guidelines on the matter, while asking federations to develop their own rules specific to their sport.

FINA had appointed three committees – one made up of medical experts, another of lawyers and the last of athletes – to look into the matter. The medical committee found that men who became women retained advantages.

Even with suppressing hormones, the sex benefits will be retainedsaid Dr. Michael Joyner, one of the members.

Some of the advantages that men gain at puberty are structural and are not lost with the suppression of hormones, mentioned fellow member Dr. Sandra Hunter of Marquette University in Milwaukee. This includes things like bigger lungs and hearts, longer bones, bigger feet and hands.

As for the swimmers, the Australian Cate Campbell, quadruple Olympic champion, took the floor to defend this position.

My role is to stand here today and tell transgender people that we want them to be part of the greater community of swimmers. […] but also to stand here and say […] “Listen to Science”she expressed herself.