Australia’s most successful male Olympian Ian Thorpe has hit back at a decision by international swimming’s governing body FINA to ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s events.
The legendary swimmer, who won five gold medals at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games, said the sport’s leaders had made the wrong decision.
“This is a very complicated issue, I can’t deny that, and I am personally opposed to the position FINA has taken on this,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“I am for fairness in sport, but I’m also for equality in sport. And in this instance, they’ve actually got it wrong.”
Following a storm of controversy, and a campaign of harassment against a swimmer who won an American collegiate event, FINA banned transgender athletes from competing in women’s races unless they had transitioned before the age of 12.
Other international governing bodies soon followed suit.
International Rugby League barred trans-women from competition, while gender inclusion rules have also come under review for football, netball and athletics.
FINA’s June ruling was welcomed by some of Australia’s Olympic stars, including Tokyo gold medallists Cate Campbell and Emily Seebohm, who had previously voiced concerns about “fairness” and the physiological differences between men and women.
(Photo by Getty Images)
But Thorpe said some of these concerns were overblown.
Of all the athletes who have competed at the Olympics, only two were transgender women. One of them – New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard – came last in her event in 2021. The other – BMX rider Chelsea Wolfe from the USA – was an alternate who did not compete.
“So when you run the numbers, someone who’s gone through the tough process and been able to transition to the sex that they determine for themselves is highly unlikely to ever be able to win an Olympic gold medal,” said Thorpe.
The five-time Olympic champion called FINA’s decision a “temporary solution” that failed to consider the implications it could have on the gender-diverse community.
“When it comes to the elite level, there needs to be a sensible conversation which includes endocrinologists, psychologists, physiologists – everyone that actually may have an opinion in this space.”
Thorpe said he believed concerns about transgender children in sport were “bizarre”. “If someone is complaining about someone who is trans when they happen to be 10 years of age, it is bizarre. I can almost promise you that child will not be competing at an adult stage.”
Thorpe hung up his goggles for good after an attempted comeback in 2012, and has spent much of his post-pool retirement advocating for LGBTQI groups.
In February, he criticised Australia’s new religious discrimination bill, calling it “state-sanctioned discrimination”.
He called for the protection of the transgender community, who he referred to as “some of the most marginalised and disadvantaged people in this country”.
Simon G
Roar Rookie
Those 2 that competed in the Olympics, did they previously make an Olympic team when they were a male? If the answer is no, then they have gained an advantage by competing as a female. If they are ranked 500th in the world as a male, then transition and are suddenly ranked 10th as a female, they may not win a medal, but is it fair to all the other females that they are forced to compete against someone who isn’t actually a female? The answer is no.
XI
Roar Guru
That you can only pull out a handful of examples and ignore the fact that most of the time, trans people compete and win or lose pretty much the normal amount for someone of their skill level, shows that you are basing your opinions on preconceptions not reality. Trans men compete in men's sport all the time but you don't hear about because they're not as easy a chew toy for the media as trans women are. When Lia Thomas won her race last year causing all that consternation, she wasn't a record breaker nor did she dominate the tournament. She came last in one of the other races she swam: a normal result for a good competitive swimmer.
XI
Roar Guru
Did you know that trans women have been able to compete and qualify for women's events at the Olympics for more than a decade prior to this decision? Guess how many qualified for the Olympics. Two. Guess how many medals were won. Zero.
XI
Roar Guru
It's a shameful decision not based on evidence or experience but because loud bigots want to target the thin end of the wedge. That so many orgs fell for it is disappointing but not surprising.
Fitzy
Guest
It's actually not that complicated. You can't change your sex, no matter how hard you try. And many who tried when they were kids have now come to the realisation their lives have been destroyed.
Simon G
Roar Rookie
There’s a reason why you only hear of transitioned males competing in women events and not the other way around, it’s because they have a massive advantage of going through puberty as a male… I’m sure if you had a transgender Olympics, all the womens records would be quicker, higher, further and stronger than all the male records…
Chum
Roar Rookie
a man saying that women should have to compete against people who used to be men - righto. I think swimming got this bang on. If they transition before a certain age, sure. But no-one wants to see someone who used to be a bloke and still looks like a bloke beating women in competitive sport. There was a reason the AFLW never allowed Hannah mouncey in, watching her barrel into women in a ruck would have been an awful visual. I see a trans cyclist Austin Killips just won an elite level cycling competition in the USA, beating a whole bunch of other women and is rightly being ripped into for this "victory". you will never see a trans lady who's now a bloke competing against men in the olympics or elite sport, this is all one way traffic. That's why it's not fair, and why it's never gonna be tolerated. Call me a bigot but I'm pretty sure this is the view of a vast majority of people.