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Swimming Australia has acted to suppress described as “fabricated stories” and “false comments” attributed to swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan regarding trans swimmer Lia Thomas.

Online Posts Circulate Inaccurate Claims

A comment linked to O’Callaghan but not shared from her online platforms has been seen in content on the social media site Facebook, as well as on X, and claimed the Olympic champion would refuse to compete in the 2028 Olympics if a trans athlete is allowed to race.

The statement falsely attributed to O’Callaghan featured a provocative remark that “being in the same lane with Lia Thomas is absolutely an affront and a shame”.

Official Statement from Swimming Australia

The organization backed the gold medalist in a statement titled with “fabricated comments associated with Australian team member Mollie O’Callaghan”.

“Currently, we see made-up comments linked to Dolphin Mollie O’Callaghan seen on platform posts,” Swimming Australia announced on Sunday.

“Never has O’Callaghan been interviewed and made statements on trans swimmers.

“Facebook’s parent company has been informed of the fake news, and O’Callaghan and the federation have demanded the items to be removed.”

Current Status and Context

Content that include the quote attributed to O’Callaghan were still online on Facebook on the following day, while a platform official said that “we are reviewing the demand”.

The federation refused to give further comment.

American transgender athlete Lia Thomas is prohibited from participating in the women’s events under present World Aquatics rules and could not change the rules in the run-up to the Paris Olympics.

The governing body introduced rules in recent years which ban anyone who has experienced “any part of puberty as a male” from the female category.

About Mollie O’Callaghan

O’Callaghan is a five-fold gold medal winner after beating compatriot Ariarne Titmus in the 200-meter freestyle final at the 2024 Paris Games along with participating in four winning relays.

The young champion added a 200m freestyle world championship crown to her accolades in Japan in recent months.

O’Callaghan was racing in a international event in the United States recently and outpaced the opponents by nearly two seconds to claim the women’s 200m freestyle in a Commonwealth record of 1:50.77.