EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS), a competitive swimming membership organization with over 60,000 adult swimmers, was thrust into national controversy last week after reports surfaced that a trans swimmer won five women’s events.
USMS confirmed to Fox News Digital it is currently conducting an eligibility review in response to a request from a competitor at the meet.
Louisiana woman and long-time swimmer Wendy Enderle said she filed the request for an eligibility review after finding out that one of the competitors she has faced for years was transgender, via a news article stemming from last week’s incident.
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“I feel betrayed. Plain and simple,” Enderle told Fox News Digital.
Enderle most recently competed against the trans athlete at the USMS Spring National Championship in San Antonio April 26-27. The trans athlete, Ana Caldas, won gold in five races, including in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle in the 45-49 age bracket against Enderle.
Enderle first ever saw Caldas in person in February 2024 at the World Aquatics Masters World Championships women’s 50m freestyle in Doha, Qatar. Enderle finished with a time of 29.19, while Caldas finished in 27.91.
However, Enderle said she did not directly introduce herself to Caldas until a USMS meet in Little Rock, Arkansas, in January. Upon meeting Caldas, Enderle noticed the athlete’s muscles and height, but still assumed Caldas was biologically female.
“I knew there was something, but I didn’t know what, I had no idea she was a trans female up until this past Wednesday after the meet,” Enderle said. “I was shocked… It makes me concerned, it makes me mad.”
Enderle submitted her request for an eligibility review against Caldas this past week. One of the main goals of that decision is to keep Caldas from competing in this year’s World Aquatics Masters World Championships in Singapore.
“I don’t think it’s right that she was competing in the women’s category, and I don’t believe that she should be competing in the women’s category this August in Singapore,” Enderle said.
“I’m not trying to keep Ana, I’m not trying to keep anyone else from competing. I have nothing against trans individuals, I have nothing against LGBTQ individuals. But I believe in fairness in sports and I don’t believe that men should participate in women’s sports. I don’t think it’s fair.”
Fellow USMS women’s swimmer Angie Griffin also swam with Caldas last week without knowledge of Caldas’ birth gender.
The shock of learning the news about Caldas prompted Griffin to write a formal letter of complaint to USMS. The letter also requested the organization to “re-evaluate” that recent Spring National Championship and completely overhaul its current gender eligibility policy.
Griffin competed against Caldas in three races and finished behind the trans athlete in the 50-yard breastroke and 100-yard individual medley.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about how the integrity of individual competition had been compromised Why doesn’t USMS follow the same competitive standards as the rest of the world and NCAA? Why are athletes asked to accept less transparency and fairness?” Griffin told Fox News Digital “I paid my entry fees, airfare, and hotel, trusting I’d be competing in a women’s division defined by biological sex. I deserved to know the truth before stepping onto the blocks.”
Griffin’s team did beat Caldas’ team in the Women’s 45+ 200 Free Relay, but Griffin still walked away from the incident feeling concerned.
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“Reflecting on the meet, that one high point of winning the relay didn’t erase the larger concern,” Griffin said.
While USMS is currently conducting an eligibility review based on the San Antonio meet, the organization admitted it has never disqualified a swimmer based on gender identity.
“USMS has not disqualified a swimmer from official recognition based on gender eligibility after an event,” the organization told Fox News Digital.
USMS gender eligibility policy states that swimmers who identify as transgender are not required to provide documentation on eligibility to participate, until a request for review is made. Still, the organization said that documentation verification is rare.
“If a review request is filed, our eligibility panel — composed of member leaders and subject matter experts — follows a structured, confidential process to determine whether the athlete meets the criteria for official recognition. This includes reviewing documentation the swimmer provides following our published policy,” USMS said.
“Cases that require documentation are extremely rare, and we follow a structured process in line with our published rules and policy. This protects athlete privacy and ensures the same standard applies to every swimmer.”
USMS policy allows transgender swimmers to participate in the gender competition category in which they identify, and they may also be recognized for accomplishments, if certain conditions are met.
One of the two conditions requires that a hormonal therapy appropriately be administered continuously and uninterrupted in a verifiable manner for no less than one year. The other condition is proof of testosterone serum levels measured during the last twelve months being below five nmol/L (144.25 ng/dL).
Trans swimmers who do not meet those requirements can still participate in the women’s category, but their times are removed from the submitted results, and they are not eligible for official times, places, points, records, Top 10 or other forms of official recognition.
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