For the first time, transgender swimmers are now allowed to compete in a new “open” category at the Swimming World Cup.
CAMBRIDGE, MA – FEBRUARY 19: University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas reacts after her team wins the 400 yard freestyle relay during the 2022 Ivy League Womens Swimming and Diving Championships at Blodgett Pool on February 19, 2022 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
World Aquatics, the world governing body for swimming, has launched an “open category” for gender-diverse athletes to race at the event in Berlin from October 6 to 8.
Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, swims for the University of Pennsylvania at an Ivy League swim meet against Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts on January 22, 2022. – Thomas placed first in the 200 yard Freestyle. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
CHENGDU, CHINA – AUGUST 07: Zhang Yufei of Team China celebrates after winning the Swimming – Women’s 50m Freestyle Final on day 10 of 31st FISU Summer World University Games at Dong’an Lake Sports Park Aquatics Centre on August 7, 2023 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China. (Photo by An Yuan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)
The ruling came after Lia Thomas, an American college student who started her transition at 19, became the first transgender woman to win an NCAA Division I swimming championship.
Transgender woman Lia Thomas stands on the podium after winning. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Her win sparked a controversy about the place of transgender swimmers.
Transgender woman Lia Thomas wins the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship on March 17, 2022. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
World Aquatics then announced that trans women swimmers could only compete in women’s competitions if they started their transition before the age of 12.
Photo by François-Xavier MARIT/AFP via Getty Images
It promised to create the open category for those who don’t meet the requirements, saying that it will protect the “competitive fairness” of its events while allowing everybody to compete at an elite level.
Lia Thomas hugs trans swimmer Iszac Henig after winning the 100-yard freestyle. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
The open category will feature 50-meter and 100-meter races and welcomes “swimmers of all sex and gender identities,” according to the organization.
CAMBRIDGE, MA – FEBRUARY 17: University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas looks on after swimming the 500 freestyle during the 2022 Ivy League Womens Swimming and Diving Championships at Blodgett Pool on February 17, 2022 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
