🔗 Share this article Swimming Federation Acts to Halt Fake Quotes Attributed to Champion Athlete Mollie O’Callaghan Swimming Australia has taken steps to stop described as “fabricated stories” and “made-up statements” attributed to swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan concerning transgender athlete Lia Thomas. Social Media Posts Spread False Claims A comment attributed to O’Callaghan but not posted from her online platforms has appeared in updates on Meta platform Facebook, as well as on the platform X, and implied the elite athlete would boycott in the 2028 LA Games if a trans athlete is cleared to participate. These words falsely attributed to O’Callaghan included a controversial remark that “being in the same lane with Lia Thomas is really an disgrace and a shame”. Official Response from the Federation The organization stood by the star swimmer in a statement headlined with “fake quotes associated with Dolphin Mollie O’Callaghan”. “Currently, we see made-up comments linked to team member Mollie O’Callaghan seen on online content,” Swimming Australia stated this past Sunday. “Not at any point has O’Callaghan spoken to media and given remarks on transgender athletes. “The platform has been advised of the fabricated stories, and O’Callaghan and Swimming Australia have asked the posts to be taken down.” Current Status and Context Posts that contain the comment credited to O’Callaghan were still online on Facebook on Monday, while a Meta spokesperson said that “we are looking into the request”. Swimming Australia refused to give more details. American transgender athlete Lia Thomas is barred from competing in the women’s division under existing international swimming regulations and could not change the regulations in the run-up to the recent Games. The international federation introduced rules in recent years which ban anyone who has undergone “any stage of male development” from the women’s division. About Mollie O’Callaghan O’Callaghan is a five-time gold medal winner after outpacing teammate Ariarne Titmus in the freestyle event final at the 2024 Paris Games along with contributing to four winning relays. The young champion added a 200-meter freestyle global championship to her honours in Japan in recent months. O’Callaghan was participating in a international competition in the United States over the weekend and outpaced the competitors by a significant margin to take out the freestyle race in a Commonwealth record of 1:50.77.