Australia's Seebohm backs FINA decision on transgender swimmers

MELBOURNE : Australian Olympic gold medallist Emily Seebohm has welcomed FINA's decision to restrict the participation of transgender athletes in elite women's swimming, saying the sport could now move on with certainty.

FINA made the decision at its extraordinary general congress (EGC) on Sunday after members heard a report from a transgender task force comprising leading medical, legal and sports figures.

Five-times world champion Seebohm, who won a medley relay gold medal for Australia at last year's Tokyo Games, said the decision would encourage swimmers to stay in the sport.

"I’m finally happy that we have a decision, and we know where the sport’s going and what we’re going to be doing," the 30-year-old told Sky News Australia on Monday.

"We just didn't know what was going to happen and when we just don't know, it's hard to commit fully to our sport if we have no idea the direction it's going to go.

"We can all move on. We can all just go back to the sport that we love ... and know that we're getting in the pool and it's going to be a fair, level playing field and that's what we want."

Athlete Ally, an advocacy group for LGBTQI+ people in sport, said FINA's decision was "discriminatory" and "harmful".

"If we truly want to protect women’s sports, we must include all women," they said in a post on twitter.

Transgender rights has become a major talking point as sports seek to balance inclusion with fairness.

The debate intensified after University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas became the first transgender NCAA champion in Division I history after winning the women's 500-yard freestyle earlier this year.

FINA said it will create a working group to establish an "open" category for them in some events as part of its new