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EXCLUSIVE: US Masters Swimming (USMS), an organization of competitive swimming with more than 60,000 adult swimmers, was plunged into the national controversy last week after reports that a trans swimmer won five female events.
USMS confirmed to PK Press Club Digital that he is currently carrying out an eligibility exam in response to a request for a competitor to the competition.
Louisiana’s wife and long -standing swimmer, Wendy Enderle, said that she had applied for the revision of eligibility after discovering that one of the competitors she has met for years was transgender, via a press article from last week’s incident.
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The female swimmer Wendy Enderle swimming at the 2018 USMS Spring Championship. (Gracieuse of Wendy Enderle)
“I feel betrayed. Plain and simple,” Enderle told PK Press Club Digital.
Enderle recently competed against the Trans athlete at the USMS National Spring Championship in San Antonio from April 26 to 27. The Trans athlete, Ana Caldas, won gold in five races, especially in 50 and 100 free yards in the 45-49 age group against Enderle.
Enderle saw Caldas for the first time in February 2024 at the world championships in the Masters Aquatics 50m freestyle in Doha, Qatar. Enderle finished with a time of 29.19, while Caldas finished in 27.91.
However, Enderle said that she had not presented herself directly in Caldas to a USMS meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas, in January. After meeting Caldas, Enderle noticed the muscles and the size of the athlete, but always assumed that Caldas was biologically feminine.
“I knew there was something, but I didn’t know what, I didn’t know she was a trans woman until Wednesday after the game,” said Enderle. “I was shocked … It makes me worry, it drives me crazy.”
Enderle submitted his request for an eligibility exam against Caldas last week. One of the main objectives of this decision is to prevent the Caldas from participating in the world championships for this year aquatic world in Singapore.
“I do not think it is true that she was in competition in the women’s category, and I do not think she should participate in the women’s category in August in Singapore,” said Enderle.
“I am not trying to keep Ana, I do not try to prevent anyone from competing. I have nothing against trans individuals, I have nothing against LGBTQ individuals. But I believe in equity in sport and I do not think that men participate in the sports of women. I do not think it’s just.”
The swimmer of USMS women, Angie Griffin, also swam with Caldas last week without knowing the birth sex of Caldas.
The shock of learning the news on the Caldas prompted Griffin to write an official letter from the USMS. The letter also asked the organization to “reassess” this recent national spring championship and completely revise its current eligibility policy between the sexes.
Griffin competed against Caldas in three races and finished behind the trans athlete in the ignorance of 50 yards and 100 individual yards.
“I could not stop thinking about how the integrity of individual competition had been compromised why don’t the USMs follow the same competitive standards as the rest of the world and the NCAA? Why are athletes invited to accept less transparency and equity?” Griffin told PK Press Club Digital “I paid my entrance fees, my plane ticket and a hotel, trusting the competition in a female division defined by biological sex. I deserved to know the truth before getting on the blocks.”
The Griffin team beat the Caldas team in the free 45+ 200 relay, but Griffin has always moved away from the worried incident.
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“Thinking about the competition, a high point to win the relay has not erased the greatest concern,” said Griffin.
While the USMS currently performs an eligibility exam based on the meeting of San Antonio, the organization admitted that it had never disqualified a swimmer based on gender identity.
“The USMS has not disqualified a swimmer of official recognition based on gender eligibility after an event,” the organization told PK Press Club Digital.
The USMS sex eligibility policy declares that swimmers who identify as transgender are not required to provide documents on the eligibility to participate, until a review request is made. However, the organization said that the verification of the documentation is rare.
“If an examination request is filed, our eligibility committee – made up of member heads and experts in the matter – follows a structured and confidential process to determine whether the athlete meets the official recognition criteria.
“Cases that require documentation are extremely rare, and we follow a process structured in accordance with our published rules and policies. This protects the confidentiality of athletes and guarantees that the same standard applies to each swimmer.”
USMS policy allows transgender swimmers to participate in the gender competition category in which they identify, and they can also be recognized for achievements, if certain conditions are met.
One of the two conditions requires hormonal therapy to be properly administered continuously and uninterrupted in a verifiable manner for no less than a year. The other condition is proof of the serum testosterone rates measured in the last twelve months being less than five Nmol / L (144.25 NG / DL).
Trans swimmers who do not meet these requirements can always participate in the women’s category, but their time is removed from the results submitted, and they are not eligible for official times, places, points, files, top 10 or other forms of official recognition.
