Swimming Body Takes Action to Suppress False Quotes Attributed to Champion Swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan
The national swimming federation has taken steps to suppress what it calls “fake news” and “fabricated quotes” linked to Olympic champion Mollie O’Callaghan regarding trans swimmer Lia Thomas.
Social Media Content Spread Fake Statements
Remarks credited to O’Callaghan but not shared from her social media accounts has been seen in posts on the social media site Facebook, as well as on the platform X, and claimed the Olympic champion 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 provocative statement that “sharing a pool with Lia Thomas is truly an disgrace and a disgrace”.
Official Statement from Swimming Australia
Swimming Australia stood by the star swimmer in a release headlined with “fabricated comments linked to Australian team member Mollie O’Callaghan”.
“At present, there are false statements attributed to Dolphin Mollie O’Callaghan appearing on platform posts,” the federation stated on Sunday.
“At no stage has O’Callaghan given an interview and made statements on trans swimmers.
“The platform has been informed of the fabricated stories, and O’Callaghan and Swimming Australia have asked the content to be deleted.”
Current Status and Context
Updates that feature the statement credited to O’Callaghan were still online on the platform on Monday, while a platform official said that “we are reviewing the request”.
The federation refused to give more details.
American trans swimmer Lia Thomas is prohibited from racing in the women’s division under existing World Aquatics rules and was unable to challenge the rules in the run-up to the recent Games.
The governing body put in place regulations in 2022 which forbid anyone who has gone through “any part of puberty as a male” from the female category.
About Mollie O’Callaghan
O’Callaghan is a multiple gold medal winner after beating teammate Ariarne Titmus in the 200m freestyle championship race at the recent Olympics along with participating in several team victories.
The young champion added a freestyle world title to her achievements in Tokyo in recent months.
O’Callaghan was racing in a World Cup event in the United States recently and defeated the opponents by almost two seconds to take out the women’s 200m freestyle in a new best of one minute 50.77 seconds.
