Swimming Organization Takes Action to Suppress Fabricated Quotes Attributed to Star Swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan
The national swimming federation has taken steps to stop labeled as “fake news” and “false comments” associated with swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan concerning transgender athlete Lia Thomas.
Social Media Posts Spread Inaccurate Statements
Remarks linked to O’Callaghan but not posted from her online platforms has been seen in posts on Meta platform Facebook, as well as on X, and claimed the elite athlete would refuse to compete in the 2028 Olympics if a transgender athlete is cleared to compete.
The quote wrongly credited to O’Callaghan contained a controversial comment that “being in the same lane with Lia Thomas is truly an insult and a embarrassment”.
Official Response from the Federation
Swimming Australia backed the gold medalist in a statement titled with “fake quotes attributed to Australian team member Mollie O’Callaghan”.
“At present, there are made-up comments credited to team member Mollie O’Callaghan seen on social media posts,” Swimming Australia said on Sunday.
“Not at any point has O’Callaghan given an interview and provided commentary on transgender athletes.
“Facebook’s parent company has been informed of the fake news, and O’Callaghan and Swimming Australia have requested the content to be removed.”
Current Status and Context
Updates that feature the comment credited to O’Callaghan were still online on the platform on Monday, while a company representative said that “we are looking into the appeal”.
The federation refused to give more details.
United States trans swimmer Lia Thomas is barred from competing in the women’s division under current international swimming regulations and could not change the policies in the run-up to the Paris Olympics.
The governing body introduced regulations in recent years which ban anyone who has undergone “any part of male puberty” from the female category.
About Mollie O’Callaghan
O’Callaghan is a five-fold Olympic gold medallist after outpacing teammate Ariarne Titmus in the 200m freestyle final at the 2024 Paris Games along with participating in four relay team triumphs.
O’Callaghan secured a 200-meter freestyle world championship crown to her honours in Japan in recent months.
O’Callaghan was participating in a short course event in the United States recently and beat the opponents by a significant margin to take out the freestyle race in a Commonwealth record of a record time.
