MOSCOW, June 19 The International Swimming Federation (FINA) has tightened the standards for participation transgender people in their competitions, according to the organization's website. The standards were adopted at an extraordinary FINA congress in Budapest, during which working groups of athletes, scientists and doctors, as well as a human rights group, spoke. Now, transgender athletes to compete in women's competition must complete the transition by age 12 to be eligible to compete, and their testosterone levels must not exceed 2.5 nanomoles per liter. There are no restrictions on the participation of transgender people in men's competitions. The proposal was supported by 196 people out of 274. FINA President Hussein Al-Musallam said that the organization must protect the integrity of the competition, especially in the women's category. He also announced the creation of a working group that will work on the introduction of an «open category» in some of the organization's competitions. «Creating an open category will mean that everyone will have the opportunity to compete at the elite level. This has not happened before, so FINA should be the leader on this issue I want all athletes to feel involved in the process of developing ideas,” Al-Musallam said. He noted that scientists, lawyers and public organizations took part in the development of new standards. The rules will come into effect on June 20, 2022. In March, US transgender swimmer Leah Thomas won the American National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship, ahead of medalists at the Tokyo Olympics. Its results have caused a lot of controversy and criticism among the sports community.
