Transnistrian Lia Thomas began competing in swimming in the women’s series and achieved overwhelming success. The International Swimming Federation then decided that transgender women would no longer be able to compete in the Women’s Series.
International sports federations are now taking a stand on an issue that has been avoided for years because of its sensitivity.
Transna-like weightlifter Laurel Hubbardinswimmer Lia Thomasin and a cyclist Emily Bridgesinrising to the top caste of their own sports has led unions to struggle with an extremely difficult question: should transgender women be allowed to take part in women ‘s sports series or not?
Last week, the International Swimming Federation FINA banned the participation of transgender women in the women’s series in value competitions. In the same breath, FINA also said it plans to set up its own open swimming class in addition to the men’s and women’s series. This series could include, for example, transgender women who cannot compete in the women’s series.
The decision was passed with a 71% majority at the FINA meeting in Budapest during the World Swimming Championships last week. The chairman of the Finnish Swimming Association, who was present for the vote Ville Riekkinen according to FINA, the policy was positive and a bold statement on a difficult issue.
– This is a good decision for swimming, which allows for equal and fair competition for everyone. The conditions for the participation of the women’s series are now clear, and through the new open series, everyone will have the opportunity to continue participating in competitive and top-level sports, Riekkinen opened to Urheil.
Under the new policy, the doors to the women’s series will still be open to transgender women if they haven’t gone through a male adolescence. According to FINA, the condition for women’s participation in the series is the correction of gender by the age of 12.
Seta knocks down the decision
Expert in influencing the youth work of the human rights organization Seta Lotte Telakivi was not at all satisfied with Finan’s decision. Seta seeks to influence the issue of sexual and gender minorities.
– The decision is clear discrimination and also a risk of human rights violations. Such a categorical prohibition does not take into account individual differences or situations. Creating a separate class for trans athletes is again an indication that trans women are not considered women, Telakivi says in an interview with Sport.
Telakivi emphasizes that the decision of the International Swimming Federation contradicts the International Olympic Committee IOC in 2021 (moving to another service) with the principles of non-discrimination created by According to Telakivi, many factors other than testosterone values alone can offer an unfair advantage over competitors.
– In top sports, there has long been an obsession with controlling and measuring women’s bodies. The amount of testosterone measured alone is not critical because the amounts and effects of the hormone in different bodies are individual.
– It is good to ask why only one of these performance indicators is used for women. Many other physiological and genetic factors can provide a competitive advantage over others.
Seta is concerned about the discrimination experienced by transgender people in sports and sports in general.
– Few trans people join sports because of fear of discrimination. We need to be more concerned about their involvement than their superiority, Telakivi says.
In the future, transgender women will be allowed to take part in women’s competitions if they have undergone medical gender correction by the age of 12. In many countries, gender correction is not even possible at the age of 11.
Finnish law does not set a minimum age for the treatment of transgender sex, but according to Seta’s experts, the gender conflict between people under 13 is not investigated at all. In practice, hormone replacement therapy is possible at the age of 16 at the earliest. Puberty prophylaxis is also very cautious and the majority of those who want it have not received it, according to Seta.
– In Finland, the medical sex correction process takes a really long time. If the policy on transgender people is also mainstreamed into other sports, it means that women from trans-background backgrounds will not rise to top sports in Finland in the future, Telakivi concludes.
Source: Seta
In swimming, the delimitation issues of the new trans series are not unambiguous.
– The diversity of gender and bodies is a reality. Transgender people are in an generally unequal position before the law and are often blindfolded. Cases like this further increase hate speech and discrimination against transgender people, Telakivi estimates.
According to Telakivi, for example, Hubbard is a weightlifter at the Tokyo Olympics and a high jumper in Finland Jade Nyström have received outrageous transgender behavior.
Why did FINA make the decision?
Underlying the IOC’s policy was the case of the Tokyo Olympics, when New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard became the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics in a different class than his or her gender at birth.
The decision of the International Swimming Federation was being prepared by an extensive working group of experts in sports, medicine and legal and human rights issues. A scientific report produced by the group dictated that going through adolescence in men meant that transgender women “maintained a relative performance advantage over biological women,” even after testosterone-lowering medications.
FINA’s decision to block US transgender Lia Thomasin future participation in women’s series. Thomas became the first transgender swimmer to win a women’s college championship in the United States early in the year. Thomas has also broken several college records since his gender correction.
According to the swimming association Riekkinen, Thomas rose to more than 400 places in the FINA swimming rankings when he competed in the men’s series for the men’s side.
– When there is a bigger heart, lungs and limbs, even if the testosterone level is lowered, it does not solve everything from the point of view of justice, Riekkinen says.
The decision only applies to finals organized by FINA, such as the World Championships and the Olympics. However, it also prevents Thomas from setting an official world record for women’s swimming. According to Reuters (you’re switching to another service) the new policy only applies to transgender athletes in women’s competitions. Transmitters will continue to be able to compete in men’s competitions without restrictions.
FINA has set up a working group to design a new swimming class, with the task of preparing a consensus on the details of the new series in six months. According to Riekkinen, the open series could possibly be ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
– The operating principle has just been decided, the details are not yet known. The results of the working group will be reviewed at the Melbourne meeting at the end of the year. If the decision is reached in December, the new series will probably have time for the next Olympics, Riekkinen says.
A new series is also planned for athletics
Coe, who was present in Budapest, said he defended the integrity of women’s sports.
– That’s how it should be. We have always put biology ahead of (social) gender and will continue to evaluate our rules from this perspective. We are following science, Coe told the BBC.
– The matter is very complicated, but I agree. The International Athletics Federation wants to protect the women’s series. Although transgender women are being wronged in some way, it is less bad than wronging all female athletes through transgender superiority, WA board member Antti Pihlakoski line for Sport.
The rules for transgender athletes are coming to WA’s agenda in December this year. According to Pihlakoski, the establishment of the third series is not a quick or simple thing.
In athletics, women’s naturally high testosterone levels have been at the surface since 2009, when the South African Caster Semenya won the 800-meter World Cup gold. Since then, Semenya’s right to participate in the Women’s Games has been twisted in different courts, often with different results.
– The women’s series was once established because men get a significant benefit from testosterone. The world is not the same for all sports. In chess, for example, a transgender may well represent the series to which he or she perceives to belong. But protecting the female series is especially important in sports where oxygen uptake and strength are important, such as athletics and swimming, Pihlakoski says.
Sports federations form their positions
Some sports have allowed transgender women to participate in women’s competitions if they have lowered their testosterone levels to a certain point. Earlier in June, the International Cycling Federation (UCI) tightened its rules on testosterone levels significantly.
According to the new practice, transgender cyclist Emily Bridges can only compete in the women’s series if she keeps her testosterone below 2.5 ml for 24 months.
The German Football Association (DFB), for its part, decided under Midsummer that all transgender, intersex and non-binary individuals would be free to choose whether to play on the women’s or men’s team.
The new rules will take effect in the coming season for all youth, amateur and futsal leagues under the German Football Association.