"It doesn't smell like mind": in the United States, transgender people were allowed to participate in women's synchronized swimming competitions

"Everyone should be able to participate fairly"

The issue of the participation of transgender people in sports competitions has recently gained relevance and caused a lot of controversy. In most sports, they do everything to protect the results of women, but the US Synchronized Swimming Federation (USAAS) took a different path. The organization decided to allow everyone to participate in the national championships, regardless of their gender identity. They called this decision revolutionary and stressed that they went for it after meetings with both athletes and professional consultants in this field.

"Everyone should be able to participate honestly, safely and fairly without prejudice. The U.S. Synchronized Swimming Federation prides itself on prioritizing diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the sport and is committed to providing a safe, supportive, and welcoming environment for transgender and non-binary people," the NOC said in a statement posted on its official website.

The federation believes that gender should not be an obstacle to participation in competitions, and promised to continue working with this principle in mind. American synchronized swimmers received the right to start in the discipline that "corresponds to their gender identity." At the same time, they will not need, as in other types, to provide data on hormone therapy or surgical interventions.

In the near future, new categories will be formed in national competitions. In particular, both men and women, as well as athletes who consider themselves to be of one gender or another, will be able to compete in solo. In pairs, there will be mixed duets (one athlete identifies himself as a boy / man, the second as a girl / woman) and gender-inclusive (one or more athletes who do not identify themselves as a girl / woman or boy / man).

The first tournament to be held under the new system will be the US Junior and Veteran Championships this summer. It is expected that in 2024 all competitions in the country will be held taking into account the policy of gender inclusion. At the same time, it is not yet known how the International Swimming Federation (FINA), which includes synchronized swimming, reacted to the incident. But the American synchronized swimmers supported the innovation. So, the representative of USAAS athletes, Bill May, suggested that it would contribute to the development of the species.

"The U.S. Synchronized Swimming Federation's Gender Inclusion Policy sets the standard for all sports and their delegations. It provides a safe, supportive, welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for all athletes without prejudice. In addition, it allows us to appreciate them and the members of our incredible organization and contributes to the development of our sport. I am honored to be a part of the U.S. Synchronized Swimming Federation, to help expand diversity and promote the values of love that it represents," May said.

Another member of the national federation, Cameron Seidman, a transgender person, said that now in the United States, all synchronized swimmers, regardless of their gender, will feel safe.

IOC Manifesto and Restrictions in Swimming and Athletics

The move by the US Synchronized Swimming Federation looks unexpected against the backdrop of tightening in many types of rules for the participation of transgender people in women's competitions. In recent years, this has become a serious problem for world sports. Gender reassignment has become more accessible, and the attitude towards it has become softer. Athletes also decide on it. But their desire to compete with the fairer sex created a threat to the results of the latter.

In 2021, the IOC published the most important manifesto on transgender people, in which it outlined its attitude towards them in ten points. On the one hand, much attention was paid to the protection of rights. For example, the inadmissibility of discrimination against athletes on the basis of their gender identity was emphasized. If there were suspicions that they were gaining an unfair advantage over their rivals, it was required to provide comprehensive evidence. At the same time, it was forbidden to carry out optional medical procedures, for example, a gynecological examination.

On the other hand, the document clearly stated: a transgender person does not have the right to gain superiority over opponents due to the characteristics of his body. It was also necessary to exclude situations where people deliberately declared gender differences in order to seize an advantage. However, the IOC did not issue specific prohibitions and restrictions, shifting all responsibility to international federations.

In some of them, they did not hesitate. First of all, this applies to FINA, where the issue is acute. In particular, the victory of former man Leah Thomas in the spring of 2022 in the championship of the American National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) caused a great resonance. Moreover, in the final 500-yard freestyle swim, she was ahead of three medalists at the Tokyo Olympics.

A few months later, FINA tightened the rules for the participation of transgender people in women's competitions. Now, for this, they must comply with two conditions: to fully complete the transition to the other sex by the age of 12 and to prevent the level of testosterone in their blood from exceeding 2.5 nanomoles per liter. At the same time, the president of the federation, Hussein Al-Musallam, proposed the creation of "open competitions" where such participants could swim without restrictions.

A year later, similar rules were adopted in World Athletic, where this problem also always existed. Suffice it to recall the two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya, whose body combined both male and female characteristics. Since the end of March, the maximum level of testosterone, as in swimming, has been set at around 2.5 nanomoles per liter. Also, transgender people must reach puberty before gender transition.

In other sports, such athletes, on the contrary, were allowed, but also with strict restrictions. Such a step, for example, was taken by the International Skating Union (ISU), which also includes figure skating and short track.

So far, contrary to fears, examples of transgender people achieving good results at the highest level are extremely rare. In this regard, the example of Laurell Khabard, who in 2021 became the first trans woman in the history of the Olympic Games, is indicative. In Tokyo, the weightlifter not only failed to compete for awards, but did not make a single successful approach.

"When women start losing to men, their brains will fall into place"

In Russia, the decision of the American Synchronized Swimming Federation met only with incomprehension. For example, four-time world champion Varvara Subbotina called the change in the rules as wrong as possible.

"I have very little idea how men will compete with women, and even in synchronized swimming. In my opinion, a man should perform in the male category, and a woman, respectively, in the female category. It is extremely strange to mix both sexes in this discipline, "Subbotina said in a comment to RT.

And the medalist of the World Championships in the triple jump and journalist Yolanda Chen believes that the admission of transgender people to general competitions will inevitably cause a split in synchronized swimming in the United States. In her opinion, they will undoubtedly receive a serious superiority in physical terms over girls due to the larger volume of the lungs.

"They can stay under water longer and jump out of it higher, which is very much appreciated in synchronized swimming. And when women start losing to men, their brains will fall into place, and they will understand what their politicians have done. There is no smell of intelligence here," Chen said.

Moreover, she suggested that the IOC would have to intervene in the situation, since the principle of gender inclusivity would invariably lead to discontent on the part of women synchronized swimmers, who could create their own federation and refuse to compete under the new rules.

In turn, RT columnist Elena Vaitsekhovskaya, on the contrary, believes that it will be extremely difficult for transgender people to get used to this form, and you should not expect momentary victories from them only at the expense of power.

"The only option that can give them any chance is to change the rules urgently. Introduce power elements, accrue additional points for them. But here, too, a quick story will not work. It is unlikely that synchronized swimmers will so easily give up their positions at the world level," the Olympic champion suggested.

At the same time, she, like Chen, is sure that American synchronized swimmers will simply not agree with the violation of their rights.

"Girls who have achieved great victories are not just talented athletes. These are superhuman strength characters, grip and the ability to stand up for oneself, which is polished daily. Especially in successful team sports - where there is a queue of a dozen applicants in your place, and no one will voluntarily give their place to anyone. And now imagine: a transgender creature suddenly gets into the locker room to such sharks, who felt like a woman in the morning. The locker rooms are shared. It's easier to drown right away, by God..." — added Vaitsekhovskaya.