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The national swimming federation has taken steps to stop described as “false information” and “false comments” attributed to swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan regarding transgender athlete Lia Thomas.

Social Media Posts Circulate False Claims

A statement credited to O’Callaghan but not shared from her official profiles has appeared in posts on Facebook, as well as on X, and implied the swimming star would not participate in the Los Angeles Olympics if a transgender swimmer is cleared to participate.

These words incorrectly linked to O’Callaghan included a inflammatory statement that “sharing a pool with Lia Thomas is really an affront and a shame”.

Official Statement from Swimming Australia

Swimming Australia stood by the Olympic champion in a release labeled with “fake quotes linked to Dolphin Mollie O’Callaghan”.

“Currently, we see fabricated quotes attributed to Dolphin Mollie O’Callaghan seen on social media posts,” Swimming Australia said this past Sunday.

“Not at any point has O’Callaghan spoken to media and provided commentary on transgender athletes.

“Meta has been notified of the false information, and O’Callaghan and the federation have requested the items to be removed.”

Current Status and Context

Updates that feature the quote attributed to O’Callaghan were still circulating on Facebook on Monday, while a company representative stated that “we are investigating the request”.

Swimming Australia did not offer additional statements.

United States trans swimmer Lia Thomas is barred from racing in the women’s events under existing governing body rules and was unable to challenge the rules in the period before the recent Games.

The international federation enacted rules in recent years which forbid anyone who has experienced “any stage of puberty as a male” from the women’s competition.

Regarding Mollie O’Callaghan

O’Callaghan is a five-time champion after beating compatriot Ariarne Titmus in the 200-meter freestyle championship race at the 2024 Paris Games along with contributing to four relay team triumphs.

The 21-year-old earned a 200m freestyle global championship to her accolades in Tokyo in July this year.

O’Callaghan was participating in a World Cup event in Indiana last weekend and outpaced the opponents by nearly two seconds to take out the freestyle race in a record time of a record time.