New ruling 'has effectively banned' transgender women from competing in women's events

Greg P. | 5:07 PM on June 19, 2022

Fina, the international swimming federation and ruling body for Olympic water sports, announced on Sunday that “it is barring transgender women from competing in women’s competitions if they have gone through male puberty”:

Breaking News: FINA, the international swimming federation, announced Sunday that it is barring transgender women from competing in women's competitions if they have gone through male puberty. https://t.co/5gL6dDTfkH

— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 19, 2022

From FINA: “If you transition after the start of puberty, you have an advantage, which is unfair”:

World swimming’s governing body effectively banned transgender athletes from competing in women’s events.

"If you transition after the start of puberty, you have an advantage, which is unfair,” the spokesperson for FINA says. https://t.co/PC7Vwgm4Cs

— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 19, 2022

These are being called “seismic changes to the eligibility of transgender women in female sport”:

🔴 World swimming have agreed seismic changes to the eligibility of transgender women in female sport by ruling that any athlete who has undergone puberty as a male can no longer compete in elite women’s sport https://t.co/H43V7Ba3jJ

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) June 19, 2022

And the Associated Press says this “has effectively banned transgender women from competing in women’s events”:

World swimming’s governing body has effectively banned transgender women from competing in women’s events.

FINA members voted 71.5% in favor of a policy that only permits swimmers who transitioned before age 12 to compete in women’s events. https://t.co/2fZ93vZb08

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 19, 2022

From the AP:

“This is not saying that people are encouraged to transition by the age of 12. It’s what the scientists are saying, that if you transition after the start of puberty, you have an advantage, which is unfair,” James Pearce, who is the spokesperson for FINA president Husain Al-Musallam, told The Associated Press.

“They’re not saying everyone should transition by age 11, that’s ridiculous. You can’t transition by that age in most countries and hopefully you wouldn’t be encouraged to. Basically, what they’re saying is that it is not feasible for people who have transitioned to compete without having an advantage.”