British Olympic Gold Medal swimmer Sharron Davies is calling for other sports to emulate the example set by swimming’s governing body by banning transgender female athletes from competing as women.
Swimming’s governing body, Fina ruled last weekend that transgender athletes may not compete as women unless they transitioned at or before age 12 and before they experienced male puberty.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of my sport, FINA and the FINA president for doing the science, asking the athletes/coaches and standing up for fair sport for females,” Davies tweeted on Sunday.
“Swimming will always welcome everyone no matter how you identify but fairness is the cornerstone of sport,” she concluded.
In her earlier tweet, Davies insisted that “Females are not men with less testosterone. Compete with your sex.”
The 59-year-old Olympian who won gold in the 1980 Games has been an outspoken critic of transgender athletes competing against natural-born female competitors.
While praising the move made by Fina, Davies was less than pleased with the new rules announced by Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
Davies blasted cycling’s leading authority for its newest rule that lengthens the amount of time a trans cyclist must take to lower testosterone from 12 months to 24 months. Davies finds the rule insufficient to block trans athletes and calls it “disgraceful.”
“I think what cycling has done is disgraceful. They have basically said they are happy for female athletes to compete with a disadvantage. I’m afraid that is not acceptable in a world where we don’t believe in sex discrimination,” Davies said according to the Daily Mail.
Fina said that its decision was based on scientific and medical evidence.
“Fina’s approach in drafting this policy was comprehensive, science-based and inclusive, and, importantly, Fina’s approach emphasized competitive fairness,” Fina executive director Brent Nowicki said after the rule was released.
Fina President Husain Al-Musallam added that the rule assures fairness for natural-born female athletes.
“Fina will always welcome every athlete,” Al-Musallam said. “The creation of an open category will mean that everybody has the opportunity to compete at an elite level. This has not been done before, so Fina will need to lead the way. I want all athletes to feel included in being able to develop ideas during this process.”
Transgender activists, though, are critics of Fina’s move.
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