Trans swimming ban based on opinion not science, experts say: ‘It creates a hostile anti-trans world’

.pn-single-post-wrapper__content-main a { background: linear-gradient(to right, rgba(245,104,109,0.4) 0, rgba(245,104,109,0.4) 100%); background-position: 0 -0.1em; background-size: 0 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; }

Scientists and athletes have criticised a policy effectively banning trans women from elite swimming competitions as “not based on concrete evidence.”

Endocrinologist Dr Ada Cheung told Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday (June 21) that the ruling made by swimming’s governing body International Swimming Federation (FINA) shouldn’t have been based on people’s “opinions.”

“We actually don’t know if there’s a biological advantage for transgender women over cisgender women because the science is not clear,” Cheung said. “FINA’s report is really based on a group of people’s opinion, it’s not a gold standard.”

The international swimming body announced the policy – which bans trans women who did not medically transition before age 12 from elite competitions – on June 20 in an extraordinary general congress in Budapest.

FINA proposed the establishment of an “open category” for transgender and gender-diverse competitors as part of a step toward what the governing body described as “full inclusion.”

googletag.cmd.push(function () { deployads.push(function() { deployads.gpt.display("Video_Unit_1x1"); deployads.gpt.pubadsRefresh([Video_Unit_1x1]); }); });

Several competitors and researchers have since lambasted the decision as “unfair”, with Cheung asking “what signal does this send to other sporting bodies?” in a tweet.

FINA’s ban was followed on Tuesday (21 June) by an announcement that trans women are being banned from international rugby league pending a review.

Trans women have been hit with a swimming ban. What signal does this send to other sporting bodies? Some of my thoughts