The Times- Lia Thomas moves transgender rules to top of swimming’s agenda

 

Lia Thomas moves transgender rules to top of swimming’s agenda

Martyn Ziegler
, Chief Sports Reporter
The Times
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Swimming’s international federation Fina is to appoint a panel of experts to come up with a new policy on transgender women competing in female events after being put on the spot by the emergence of the American college swimmer Lia Thomas.

Thomas, 22, swam for the men’s team at the University of Pennsylvania before transitioning and now competes as a woman after undergoing a year’s testosterone treatment. It has caused considerable controversy as, although her times have dropped from when she swam as a man, she is winning races by a distance and is threatening to beat records set by Katie Ledecky, the seven-times Olympic champion.

The transgender issue is the first big challenge for Fina’s new president, Husain Al Musallam, and the federation is to put together a panel of medical, legal and ethical experts to advise on a new policy.

Thomas has been dominant at college level
Thomas has been dominant at college level

There are three choices essentially: to allow transgender women to compete in female events without restrictions; to require lower testosterone levels; or to make men’s swimming an open category in which transgender women can still compete.

One other option unlikely to be adopted is that proposed by David Grevemberg, the American former chief executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation who now heads the Centre for Sports and Human Rights. Grevemberg suggested there could be “staggered starts” in races to allow inclusion of trans athletes.

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