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World Aquatics to launch ‘open’ category for transgender swimmers at Berlin event

World Aquatics will debut an 'open category' at a World Cup in Berlin in October for transgender competitors, the governing body announced on Wednesday.

Published: 16 August 2023 16:55 CEST
swimming
Silhouette of a diver in London. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/PA Wire | Bradley Collyer

The “pilot project” will be the first of its kind at swimming World Cups.

World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA, voted in 2022 to ban male-to-female transgender athletes from competing in the women’s competitions at major events such as the Olympics and World Cups, while creating a working group to establish an open category.

In Berlin, the open category will offer 50-metre and 100-metre races in all swimming strokes but World Aquatics said it could be expanded.

READ ALSO: German plans to make legal gender change easier

Governing body president Husain Al-Musallam said in a statement that World Aquatics were “committed to exploring the creation of an open category” when updating the eligibility requirements in 2022.

The governing body said in a statement that the creation of the category showed its “unwavering commitment to inclusivity, welcoming swimmers of all sex and gender identities.”

German Swim Federation chairman Kai Morgenroth said “Berlin is thrilled to champion this groundbreaking initiative”.

“We’re proud to host an event where swimmers can compete without barriers.”

READ ALSO: ‘I am a woman with every fibre of my body’: Germany’s first transgender MP

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SPORTS

‘Love that lasts a lifetime’: German club Leverkusen offer fans free tattoos

Bayer Leverkusen will offer supporters free club tattoos until the end of the season to celebrate their Bundesliga breakthrough, the German champions announced Friday.

Published: 10 May 2024 16:25 CEST
'Love that lasts a lifetime': German club Leverkusen offer fans free tattoos

Under the banner “love that lasts a lifetime”, Leverkusen announced the “special promotion for the end of a special season”.

Fans can book appointments to get inked at Leverkusen’s BayArena, the club’s home stadium, until the end of the season.

Unbeaten in 49 games since the start of the campaign, manager Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen won their first German top-flight title in April and are on course for a treble, having qualified for the German Cup and Europa League finals.

READ ALSO: Bayer Leverkusen win first Bundesliga title, ending Bayern Munich’s 11 year run

Fans can choose from one of 10 designs which include the club’s logo, a fist-bump above the year 1904 when the club was founded, or April 14th 2024 – the date the club finally broke through for their debut title.

A version of the Bayer cross, the logo of the Leverkusen-based pharmaceuticals company which is the club’s major benefactor, is also one of the designs.

The club announced that any fans who are unable to get an appointment at the stadium will receive a ‘19.04 percent’ rebate on the cost of tattoos from a local studio – a reference to the year the club was founded.

The club’s statement included a picture of tattooed midfielder Robert Andrich, who in April told tabloid Bild he would get a ‘Bundesliga champions’ tattoo from former Union Berlin teammate Christopher Trimmel’s studio should Leverkusen win the title.

Leverkusen, who had only won two major trophies in the club’s 120-year history before this season, will face second-division Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final and Serie A side Atalanta in the Europa League final in a three-day period in late May.

Leverkusen’s 49-game unbeaten run beat a 59-year old European record set by Portuguese club Benfica from 1963 to 1965.

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