Ariarne Titmus Is The Latest Athlete To Comment On Trans Sport W/O Defending Trans Athletes
“We want everyone to enjoy swimming in the fairest way possible and I hope that they take that into account."
Olympic gold medalist swimmer Ariarne Titmus is the latest athlete to be linked to the push against trans athletes’ inclusion in sport, after her plea to “make it fair” was published on the front page of News Corp papers on Thursday.
If you thought the media circus around trans women’s inclusion in sport would’ve ended when Katherine Deves stunningly lost the 2022 election after weeks of pushing anti-trans views, think again because the topic is still dominating headlines after trans swimmer Lia Thomas announced her intention to try out for the US Olympic team.
Titmus — alongside fellow Olympians Emma McKeon and Mack Horton — was questioned on her thoughts on trans inclusion in the sport at the Speedo’s Commonwealth Games swimsuit launch on Wednesday. Unlike McKeon — who admitted she wouldn’t personally want to race against trans women — Titmus stopped short of offering a clear opinion, instead just asserting that she wants it to be “fair”.
“I love swimming, everyone here loves swimming and I hope that… FINA [the world governing swimming body] come up with rules that make it fair and enjoyable for everyone,” said Titmus. “We want everyone to enjoy swimming in the fairest way possible and I hope that they take that into account.”
“I think at the moment we have to trust what FINA and the authorities are going to do.
“Hopefully they have our best interests at heart. We want everyone to enjoy our sport and I hope they take that into account.”
Thomas has quashed fears that she is a threat to women’s sport, stressing that — obviously — she did not transition simply to win, which is a frankly ludicrous suggestion.
“Trans women competing in women’s sports does not threaten women’s sports as a whole,” Thomas told ESPN. “Trans women are a very small minority of all athletes. The NCAA rules regarding trans women competing in women’s sports have been around for 10-plus years. And we haven’t seen any massive wave of trans women dominating.
When asked if she saw Thomas as a rival, Titmus simply stated that anyone she races is a rival and reiterated her fairness point.
“I feel like in sport, it has to be fair for everyone and I hope that decisions are made to make sure that it’s fair for everyone,” said Titmus. “But it doesn’t matter who the person is, everyone I race is a rival of mine.”
FINA is yet to release its official inclusion policy for transgender athletes, but it continues to be extremely disappointing to watch athletes failing to stand up against transphobia in sport.