Swimming Federation Takes Action to Stop Fake Comments Attributed to Champion Athlete Mollie O’Callaghan
Swimming Australia has acted to stop what it calls “false information” and “made-up statements” associated with Olympic champion Mollie O’Callaghan regarding trans swimmer Lia Thomas.
Online Content Circulate Inaccurate Statements
Remarks linked to O’Callaghan but not published from her social media accounts has appeared in posts on the social media site Facebook, as well as on the platform X, and claimed the elite athlete would refuse to compete in the 2028 LA Games if a trans athlete is permitted to compete.
These words falsely attributed to O’Callaghan included a inflammatory comment that “competing in the same pool with Lia Thomas is really an disgrace and a disgrace”.
Formal Statement from the Federation
The national body stood by the star swimmer in a statement headlined with “fake quotes attributed to Dolphin Mollie O’Callaghan”.
“Currently, we see false statements attributed to Dolphin Mollie O’Callaghan seen on social media posts,” the federation stated recently.
“At no stage has O’Callaghan given an interview and made statements on trans swimmers.
“Facebook’s parent company has been notified of the fabricated stories, and O’Callaghan and Swimming Australia have demanded the posts to be removed.”
Latest Developments and Context
Content that include the statement credited to O’Callaghan were still online on the platform on Monday, while a Meta spokesperson said that “we are investigating the appeal”.
Swimming Australia refused to give additional statements.
United States transgender athlete Lia Thomas is banned from competing in the female category under existing World Aquatics guidelines and was unable to challenge the rules in the run-up to the Paris Olympics.
The international federation introduced regulations in recent years which prohibit anyone who has undergone “any stage of puberty as a male” from the women’s division.
Regarding Mollie O’Callaghan
O’Callaghan is a five-fold Olympic gold medallist after outpacing compatriot Ariarne Titmus in the 200m freestyle final at the recent Olympics along with contributing to four winning relays.
The young champion secured a freestyle world title to her achievements in Tokyo in the summer.
O’Callaghan was participating in a World Cup event in the United States over the weekend and outpaced the opponents by nearly two seconds to take out the freestyle race in a record time of a record time.
