Women's Swimmers Speak Out After Unknowingly Facing Trans Competitor, Filing Complaint: 'i Feel Betrayed'

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS), a competitory swimming rank statement pinch complete 60,000 big swimmers, was thrust into nationalist controversy past week aft reports surfaced that a trans swimmer won 5 women's events. 

USMS confirmed to Fox News Digital it is presently conducting an eligibility review successful consequence to a petition from a competitor astatine nan meet. 

Louisiana female and long-time swimmer Wendy Enderle said she revenge nan petition for an eligibility reappraisal aft uncovering retired that 1 of nan competitors she has faced for years was transgender, via a news article stemming from past week's incident.

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Women's swimmer Wendy Enderle swims astatine nan 2018 USMS Spring Championship. (Courtesy of Wendy Enderle)

"I consciousness betrayed. Plain and simple," Enderle told Fox News Digital. 

Enderle astir precocious competed against nan trans jock astatine nan USMS Spring National Championship successful San Antonio April 26-27. The trans athlete, Ana Caldas, won golden successful 5 races, including successful nan 50- and 100-yard freestyle successful nan 45-49 property bracket against Enderle. 

Enderle first ever saw Caldas successful personification successful February 2024 astatine nan World Aquatics Masters World Championships women's 50m freestyle successful Doha, Qatar. Enderle finished pinch a clip of 29.19, while Caldas vanished successful 27.91.

However, Enderle said she did not straight present herself to Caldas until a USMS meet successful Little Rock, Arkansas, successful January. Upon gathering Caldas, Enderle noticed nan athlete's muscles and height, but still assumed Caldas was biologically female. 

"I knew location was something, but I didn't cognize what, I had nary thought she was a trans female up until this past Wednesday aft nan meet," Enderle said. "I was shocked… It makes maine concerned, it makes maine mad." 

Enderle submitted her petition for an eligibility reappraisal against Caldas this past week. One of nan main goals of that determination is to support Caldas from competing successful this year's World Aquatics Masters World Championships successful Singapore. 

"I don't deliberation it's correct that she was competing successful nan women's category, and I don't judge that she should beryllium competing successful nan women's class this August successful Singapore," Enderle said. 

"I'm not trying to support Ana, I'm not trying to support anyone other from competing. I person thing against trans individuals, I person thing against LGBTQ individuals. But I judge successful fairness successful sports and I don't judge that men should participate successful women's sports. I don't deliberation it's fair." 

Fellow USMS women's swimmer Angie Griffin besides swam pinch Caldas past week without knowledge of Caldas' commencement gender.

The daze of learning nan news astir Caldas prompted Griffin to constitute a general missive of title to USMS. The missive besides requested nan statement to "re-evaluate" that caller Spring National Championship and wholly overhaul its existent gender eligibility policy. 

Griffin competed against Caldas successful 3 races and vanished down nan trans jock successful nan 50-yard breastroke and 100-yard individual medley.

"I couldn't extremity reasoning astir really nan integrity of individual title had been compromised Why doesn't USMS travel nan aforesaid competitory standards arsenic nan remainder of nan world and NCAA? Why are athletes asked to judge little transparency and fairness?" Griffin told Fox News Digital "I paid my introduction fees, airfare, and hotel, trusting I'd beryllium competing successful a women's section defined by biologic sex. I deserved to cognize nan truth earlier stepping onto nan blocks."

Griffin's squad did hit Caldas' squad successful nan Women's 45+ 200 Free Relay, but Griffin still walked distant from nan incident emotion concerned. 

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"Reflecting connected nan meet, that 1 precocious constituent of winning nan relay didn't erase nan larger concern," Griffin said. 

While USMS is presently conducting an eligibility reappraisal based connected nan San Antonio meet, nan statement admitted it has ne'er disqualified a swimmer based connected gender identity. 

"USMS has not disqualified a swimmer from charismatic nickname based connected gender eligibility aft an event," nan statement told Fox News Digital. 

USMS gender eligibility argumentation states that swimmers who place arsenic transgender are not required to supply archiving connected eligibility to participate, until a petition for reappraisal is made. Still, nan statement said that archiving verification is rare. 

"If a reappraisal petition is filed, our eligibility sheet — composed of personnel leaders and taxable matter experts — follows a structured, confidential process to find whether nan jock meets nan criteria for charismatic recognition. This includes reviewing archiving nan swimmer provides pursuing our published policy," USMS said. 

"Cases that require archiving are highly rare, and we travel a system process successful statement pinch our published rules and policy. This protects jock privateness and ensures nan aforesaid modular applies to each swimmer."

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USMS argumentation allows transgender swimmers to participate successful nan gender title class successful which they identify, and they whitethorn besides beryllium recognized for accomplishments, if definite conditions are met. 

One of nan 2 conditions requires that a hormonal therapy appropriately beryllium administered continuously and uninterrupted successful a verifiable mode for nary little than 1 year. The different information is impervious of testosterone serum levels measured during nan past 12 months being beneath 5 nmol/L (144.25 ng/dL).

Trans swimmers who do not meet those requirements tin still participate successful nan women's category, but their times are removed from nan submitted results, and they are not eligible for charismatic times, places, points, records, Top 10 aliases different forms of charismatic recognition.

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