Swimming World Cup meet for transgender athletes scrapped after lack of entries
FILE - A swimming pool is seen during the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan on July 30, 2023. (Mine Kasapoglu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
BERLIN - Plans for the first "open category" swimming races to accommodate transgender competitors at a World Cup this weekend have been scrapped because of a lack of entries.
World Aquatics said Tuesday it had received "no entries" for the open category events scheduled to take place at a World Cup starting Friday in Berlin.
Swimming’s governing body, formerly known as FINA, had previously banned transgender competitors from major events like the Olympics and world championships, but said it was committed to creating an open category for all swimmers when it first adopted its "gender inclusion policy" last year during the worlds in Budapest, Hungary.
The open category was supposed to make its debut on a pilot basis with 50-meter and 100-meter races in Berlin. Those races will not now take place.
World Aquatics said its open category working group will continue its work.
"Even if there is no current demand at the elite level, the working group is planning to look at the possibility of including open category races at Masters events in the future," World Aquatics said.