Swimming Body Takes Action to Suppress Fabricated Comments Linked to Champion Athlete Mollie O’Callaghan
The national swimming federation has moved to stop what it calls “fake news” and “made-up statements” linked to swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan concerning transgender athlete Lia Thomas.
Social Media Content Circulate Inaccurate Claims
A statement linked to O’Callaghan but not published from her social media accounts has been seen in content on the social media site Facebook, as well as on X, and implied the elite athlete would refuse to compete in the 2028 LA Games if a transgender swimmer is permitted to compete.
The quote falsely attributed to O’Callaghan included a inflammatory statement that “competing in the same pool with Lia Thomas is really an affront and a disgrace”.
Formal Response from Swimming Australia
The organization backed the gold medalist in a announcement titled with “fake quotes linked to Dolphin Mollie O’Callaghan”.
“Currently, we see false statements attributed to team member Mollie O’Callaghan circulating on platform posts,” the federation stated on Sunday.
“Never has O’Callaghan spoken to media and made statements on transgender athletes.
“Facebook’s parent company has been advised of the false information, and O’Callaghan and Swimming Australia have asked the content to be removed.”
Latest Developments and Context
Updates that feature the quote credited to O’Callaghan were still circulating on Facebook on Monday, while a Meta spokesperson said that “we are investigating the appeal”.
The organization declined to make additional statements.
American transgender athlete Lia Thomas is barred from participating in the women’s division under existing governing body rules and could not change the policies in the period before the Olympic event.
World Aquatics introduced regulations in 2022 which forbid anyone who has experienced “any stage of puberty as a male” from the women’s competition.
Regarding Mollie O’Callaghan
O’Callaghan is a multiple champion after outpacing teammate Ariarne Titmus in the 200-meter freestyle final at the recent Olympics along with contributing to four winning relays.
The young champion earned a freestyle world championship crown to her achievements in Tokyo in recent months.
O’Callaghan was racing in a short course event in Indiana over the weekend and defeated the field by a significant margin to take out the 200-meter event in a record time of 1:50.77.
