Former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner voiced her support for the international swimming federation’s decision that transgender athletes cannot compete in women’s events if they didn’t transition before 12 years old.
Jenner, who is transgender, has been outspoken in her belief that it’s not fair for transgender women to take part in competitive women’s sports.
“It worked!” Jenner tweeted Sunday after the federation’s ruling came down. “I took a lot of heat — but what’s fair is fair! If you go through male puberty you should not be able to take medals away from females. Period.”
The swimming governing body, FINA, announced its new “gender inclusion policy” on Sunday following a 71.5% vote.
The decision comes about three months after Lia Thomas, a swimmer for the University of Pennsylvania, became the first transgender woman to win a NCAA Division I in any sport.
Thomas, who was part of the university’s men’s team before transitioning, started swimming for Penn’s women’s team during the 2021-22 season. She underwent hormone therapy before joining the women’s team.
“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,” said FINA President Husain Al-Musallam.
Jenner, 72, won a gold medal in the men’s decathlon at the 1976 Olympic Games. She came out as a transgender woman in 2015.
FINA’s ruling also received support from former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of my sport @fina & @fina_president for doing the science, asking the athletes/coaches and standing up for fair sport for females,” the English athlete tweeted Sunday. “Swimming will always welcome everyone no matter how you identify but fairness is the cornerstone of sport.”
U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe, meanwhile, has voiced her support for trans inclusion, saying in a recent interview with Time that transgender women aren’t “taking everyone’s scholarships” or “winning every title.”
“I would also encourage everyone out there who is afraid someone’s going to have an unfair advantage over their kid to really take a step back and think what are we actually talking about here,” Rapinoe said in an interview published Sunday morning.
“We’re talking about people’s lives. I’m sorry, your kid’s high school volleyball team just isn’t that important. It’s not more important than any one kid’s life.”
