On Tuesday, the national governing body for competitive swimming in America, USA Swimming announced a new policy that mandates eligibility criteria for transgender individuals who wish to participate in elite competitions.
The new rules mandate that a three-person panel of independent medical experts will determine "whether the swimmer's prior physical development as a man gives the athlete a competitive advantage over her cisgender female competitors." The trans athlete must also provide evidence that the concentration of testosterone in their blood is consistently below 5 nanomoles per liter for at least 36 months.
According to the Washington Post, USA Swimming's new transgender policy in elite competition will impact trans athletes who hope to compete in the 13-14 age group and older or those who are aiming to set American records. For trans athletes in the non-elite level, they will be able to change their competition category to compete "in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity and expression."
"The development of the elite policy acknowledges a competitive difference in the male and female categories and the disadvantages this presents in elite head-to-head competition," USA Swimming explained in a statement.
According to USA Swimming, statistical data showed how in 2021, a top-ranked female on average would place 536th across all short course yards (25 yards) male events across America and 326th across all long course meters (50 meters) male events in the U.S., among USA Swimming members. The governing body concluded, "The policy therefore supports the need for competitive equity at the most elite levels of competition."
The Daily Mail reported that transgender athlete Lia Thomas's "athletic future appeared to be in doubt" now that USA Swimming established a new transgender policy in elite competition. Thomas, who made headlines in December for breaking multiple women's swimming records, began transitioning from male to female in May 2019, just 32 months ago. The trans athlete has not yet undergone surgery to remove his male body parts, as evidenced by "awkward" sightings of his genitals in female locker rooms, according to his swim teammates.
Despite a number of University of Pennsylvania women's swimming team members expressing their concern over having a man in their team and sharing locker rooms with him, some athletes have come forward to show their support for the trans athlete, Yahoo! News reported.
"We want to express our full support for Lia in her transition. We value her as a person, teammate, and friend," a statement from the team read. "The sentiments put forward by an anonymous member of our team are not representative of the feelings, values, and opinions of the entire Penn team."
This statement comes after some of the team members blew the whistle on how their coach, Mike Schnur simply "likes winning" and did not care about the concerns of the female-born members of the team. In December, parents of the athletes on the team called out the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for failing to protect women's rights in sports.
"The precedent being set - one in which women do not have a protected and equitable space to compete - is a direct threat to female athletes in every sport," the parents said in a letter to NCAA. "At stake here is the integrity of women's sports."
