Australian Swimming Body Acts to Halt Fabricated Statements Linked to Champion Swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan
The national swimming federation has acted to stop what it calls “fabricated stories” and “fabricated quotes” attributed to swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan about trans swimmer Lia Thomas.
Social Media Posts Spread Fake Statements
A statement credited to O’Callaghan but not posted from her official profiles has been seen in content on Facebook, as well as on X, and implied the Olympic champion would not participate in the 2028 Olympics if a transgender athlete is cleared to compete.
The statement falsely attributed to O’Callaghan included a inflammatory remark that “being in the same lane with Lia Thomas is absolutely an affront and a embarrassment”.
Formal Response from the Federation
Swimming Australia stood by the star swimmer in a statement headlined with “fabricated comments attributed to Australian team member Mollie O’Callaghan”.
“There are currently made-up comments credited to Dolphin Mollie O’Callaghan appearing on online content,” the federation stated this past Sunday.
“Not at any point has O’Callaghan been interviewed and made statements on transgender athletes.
“The platform has been notified of the false information, and O’Callaghan and Swimming Australia have demanded the posts to be removed.”
Latest Developments and Context
Content that include the statement credited to O’Callaghan were still visible on the platform on the following day, while a platform official said that “we are investigating the request”.
The federation did not offer additional statements.
United States trans swimmer Lia Thomas is banned from participating in the female category under present international swimming guidelines and could not change the rules in the run-up to the Olympic event.
World Aquatics introduced guidelines in 2022 which forbid anyone who has experienced “any phase of male puberty” from the women’s competition.
Regarding Mollie O’Callaghan
O’Callaghan is a five-fold champion after outpacing compatriot Ariarne Titmus in the 200m freestyle final at the Paris event along with being part of four winning relays.
The young champion added a 200m freestyle global championship to her achievements in Japan in July this year.
O’Callaghan was competing in a international short course meet in the United States last weekend and outpaced the opponents by nearly two seconds to claim the 200-meter event in a record time of one minute 50.77 seconds.
