Swimming Body Moves to Halt False Statements Attributed to Star Athlete Mollie O’Callaghan
Swimming Australia has taken steps to suppress labeled as “fabricated stories” and “made-up statements” associated with Olympic champion Mollie O’Callaghan about transgender athlete Lia Thomas.
Social Media Content Circulate Inaccurate Claims
A comment attributed to O’Callaghan but not shared from her social media accounts has surfaced in updates on Facebook, as well as on the platform X, and suggested the swimming star would refuse to compete in the 2028 LA Games if a transgender athlete is permitted to compete.
The statement wrongly credited to O’Callaghan included a provocative statement that “sharing a pool with Lia Thomas is truly an insult and a disgrace”.
Official Statement from Swimming Australia
The organization stood by the Olympic champion in a release headlined with “false statements attributed to Australian team member Mollie O’Callaghan”.
“At present, there are made-up comments attributed to Dolphin Mollie O’Callaghan circulating on online content,” the organization said this past Sunday.
“Not at any point has O’Callaghan been interviewed and provided commentary on this issue.
“The platform has been advised of the false information, and O’Callaghan and the federation have demanded the items to be taken down.”
Latest Developments and Background
Updates that feature the quote credited to O’Callaghan were still circulating on Facebook on the following day, while a company representative stated that “we are reviewing the demand”.
The federation declined to make additional statements.
American trans swimmer Lia Thomas is prohibited from participating in the women’s division under present World Aquatics regulations and failed to overturn the policies in the run-up to the recent Games.
The governing body put in place guidelines in recent years which ban anyone who has undergone “any phase of male development” from the women’s competition.
Regarding Mollie O’Callaghan
O’Callaghan is a five-time champion after defeating fellow Australian Ariarne Titmus in the 200m freestyle final at the Paris event along with participating in four winning relays.
O’Callaghan secured a freestyle world championship crown to her achievements in Japan in recent months.
O’Callaghan was participating in a short course event in the United States over the weekend and beat the opponents by almost two seconds to win the women’s 200m freestyle in a record time of a record time.
