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Swimming Bans Transgender Women

by | Sun, Jun 26 2022

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World swimming’s governing body FINA, has this week essentially banned transgender athletes from competing in women’s events. This is a victory not just for Christians but for women’s sports in general, since many believe transgender girls participating as females have an unfair edge.

Martyn Iles from the Australian Christian Lobby recently joined us on 20Twenty to share his thoughts on the ruling. It should come as no surprise, he says, since the scientific evidence showed that biological males had a significant unfair edge in women’s sports.

“I think it’s obvious to anybody who has eyes,” says Martyn. “The body mass and muscle mass of men is so much greater, and so is the aerobic capacity. As one of the professors said, testosterone is an anabolic steroid and it has a huge impact on performance.”

Lia Thomas is a trans woman who recently astonished the world by defeating everyone in a swimming competition in the US. But it prompted a number of professional athletes to speak out. One of the testimonies included a 14-year-old boy who can swim faster than the current open-age females.

“It’s worth highlighting out of this process,” says Martyn, “that a number of the Australian women’s swimming team came out and spoke very strongly against this issue. It’s very difficult subject area in a heated political environment. Their voices have made the difference.”