FINA votes to restrict transgender athletes in elite swimming and create category for competitors whose gender is different from their birth sex

• • FINA's new policy requires trans competitors to complete their transition by 12.
  • This ruling aims to establish an 'open' category for competitors.

FINA, swimming's international governing body, voted on Sunday to restrict transgender athletes from competing in women's elite races.

According to ESPN, the new policy requires transgender competitors to have completed their transition by the age of 12 to swim in a women's meet. Anyone who has gone through any part of male puberty is barred from swimming in a women's competition.

This new ruling passed with 71% of FINA's 152 national federation members and aims to establish an 'open' category for swimmers whose gender is different from their birth sex, BBC reports.

"Fina's approach in drafting this policy was comprehensive, science-based, and inclusive, and, importantly, Fina's approach emphasized competitive fairness," said Brent Nowicki, the governing body's executive director, according to BBC.

The new ruling would greatly impact US athletes like Lia Thomas, who became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I women's swimming title in March. Thomas hopes to swim in the Olympics; however, this policy would bar her from competing.

This policy is officially in effect on June 20, according to FINA's press release