International swimming governing body FINA has decided that transgender women will not be allowed to compete in elite-level female competitions if they experienced puberty as a male at all.
The decision was put to a vote among the 152 member nations of FINA and was approved with a majority of 71%.
FINA President Husain al-Musallam explained, "We have to protect the rights of our athletes to compete, but we also have to protect competitive fairness at our events, especially the women’s category at Fina competitions."
However, he added that FINA will establish an "open" category for trans women who swim. "Fina will always welcome every athlete. 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."
Athletes and commentators have had mixed reactions to the ruling. Former swimmer Karen Pickering commented, "I was at the Fina congress for the presentation, discussion and vote and I can vouch for the care and empathy displayed for any athletes who won’t now be able to compete in the category their gender ID may align to … but competitive fairness to women’s category must be protected."
