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Swimming Australia has moved to shut down labeled as “false information” and “made-up statements” attributed to Olympic champion Mollie O’Callaghan concerning trans swimmer Lia Thomas.

Online Posts Circulate Inaccurate Statements

A comment credited to O’Callaghan but not shared from her online platforms has appeared in posts on Meta platform Facebook, as well as on the platform X, and suggested the Olympic champion would refuse to compete in the 2028 Olympics if a trans athlete is cleared to compete.

The quote incorrectly linked to O’Callaghan contained a inflammatory statement that “being in the same lane with Lia Thomas is truly an disgrace and a embarrassment”.

Official Statement from Swimming Australia

The organization supported the gold medalist in a statement titled with “fabricated comments associated with Dolphin Mollie O’Callaghan”.

“There are currently made-up comments linked to team member Mollie O’Callaghan appearing on platform posts,” Swimming Australia stated recently.

“Never has O’Callaghan given an interview and given remarks on this issue.

“Facebook’s parent company has been informed of the fabricated stories, and O’Callaghan and the federation have asked the content to be deleted.”

Current Status and Context

Updates that include the statement attributed to O’Callaghan were still circulating on the platform on Monday, while a company representative said that “we are investigating the request”.

The federation did not offer additional statements.

United States transgender athlete Lia Thomas is prohibited from participating in the female category under present governing body regulations and failed to overturn the rules in the run-up to the Olympic event.

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

About Mollie O’Callaghan

O’Callaghan is a five-fold gold medal winner after outpacing compatriot Ariarne Titmus in the freestyle event championship race at the recent Olympics along with being part of four relay team triumphs.

The young champion added a freestyle global championship to her accolades in Japan in the summer.

O’Callaghan was racing in a international event in the United States last weekend and beat the opponents by nearly two seconds to win the freestyle race in a Commonwealth record of 1:50.77.