Australian Swimming Organization Acts to Stop Fake Comments Attributed to Champion Athlete Mollie O’Callaghan
The national swimming federation has taken steps to suppress labeled as “fabricated stories” and “made-up statements” linked to Olympic champion Mollie O’Callaghan about transgender athlete Lia Thomas.
Online Posts Spread Inaccurate Statements
A statement credited to O’Callaghan but not posted from her official profiles has appeared in content on the social media site Facebook, as well as on X, and claimed the Olympic champion would not participate in the Los Angeles Olympics if a transgender athlete is permitted to participate.
The statement incorrectly linked to O’Callaghan featured a provocative comment that “competing in the same pool with Lia Thomas is truly an affront and a embarrassment”.
Official Statement from the Federation
Swimming Australia backed the star swimmer in a announcement labeled with “fake quotes associated with Dolphin Mollie O’Callaghan”.
“At present, there are fabricated quotes credited to Dolphin Mollie O’Callaghan circulating on social media posts,” the federation said recently.
“At no stage has O’Callaghan given an interview and given remarks on this issue.
“Meta has been notified of the fabricated stories, and O’Callaghan and the federation have demanded the items to be taken down.”
Latest Developments and Background
Posts that feature the comment attributed to O’Callaghan were still circulating on Facebook on Monday, while a Meta spokesperson commented that “we are looking into the appeal”.
Swimming Australia did not offer additional statements.
United States transgender athlete Lia Thomas is prohibited from competing in the female category under current international swimming rules and could not change the policies in the period before the recent Games.
The governing body introduced rules in 2022 which ban anyone who has experienced “any phase of puberty as a male” from the women’s competition.
Regarding Mollie O’Callaghan
O’Callaghan is a five-fold champion after defeating compatriot Ariarne Titmus in the 200-meter freestyle championship race at the Paris event along with being part of four relay team triumphs.
O’Callaghan added a freestyle world championship crown to her accolades in Tokyo in July this year.
O’Callaghan was competing in a international competition in Indiana over the weekend and beat the opponents by nearly two seconds to claim the freestyle race in a Commonwealth record of a record time.
