Australian Swimming Body Moves to Halt False Statements Attributed to Star Athlete Mollie O’Callaghan
Swimming Australia has taken steps to suppress labeled as “false information” and “fabricated quotes” associated with Olympic champion Mollie O’Callaghan concerning transgender athlete Lia Thomas.
Online Posts Spread Fake Statements
Remarks credited to O’Callaghan but not posted from her official profiles has been seen in updates on the social media site Facebook, as well as on Twitter, and claimed the swimming star would refuse to compete in the Los Angeles Olympics if a transgender athlete is cleared to compete.
The statement falsely attributed to O’Callaghan included a controversial statement that “sharing a pool with Lia Thomas is truly an disgrace and a shame”.
Official Statement from Swimming Australia
The organization backed the star swimmer in a announcement headlined with “false statements linked to Australian team member Mollie O’Callaghan”.
“Currently, we see made-up comments credited to team member Mollie O’Callaghan circulating on online content,” Swimming Australia stated recently.
“At no stage has O’Callaghan given an interview and made statements on this issue.
“The platform has been advised of the fake news, and O’Callaghan and the federation have demanded the posts to be taken down.”
Latest Developments and Context
Content that contain the statement attributed to O’Callaghan were still circulating on Facebook on the following day, while a company representative stated that “we are looking into the appeal”.
The federation refused to give further comment.
American trans swimmer Lia Thomas is banned from racing in the female category under present World Aquatics rules and was unable to challenge the policies in the period before the Paris Olympics.
The international federation enacted regulations in 2022 which ban anyone who has experienced “any stage of male development” from the women’s division.
About Mollie O’Callaghan
O’Callaghan is a five-time gold medal winner after defeating fellow Australian Ariarne Titmus in the 200-meter freestyle championship race at the recent Olympics along with contributing to several team victories.
The 21-year-old secured a 200-meter freestyle world title to her achievements in Tokyo in the summer.
O’Callaghan was participating in a short course event in Indiana recently and beat the competitors by almost two seconds to win the women’s 200m freestyle in a record time of one minute 50.77 seconds.
