Trans swimmer handed five-year ban for refusing sex test… months after demolishing female rivals at US Masters
Transgender swimmer Ana Caldas, 47, has been handed a five-year ban by the sport’s governing body for refusing to take a gender verification test.
Caldas, who triggered an investigation by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton into US Masters Swimming earlier this year, competed at the 2024 Masters World Championships in the senior women’s category. But Caldas, who also goes by the name Hannah and was born in Portugal but represents America, refused to undergo gender verification screening as part of World Aquatics’ investigation into their eligibility.
As a result, World Aquatics has now banned Caldas until October 2030 and all results between June 2022 and October 2024 have been stripped. In response, Caldas said: ‘Chromosomal tests are invasive and expensive procedures.
‘My insurance refuses to cover such a test because it is not medically necessary. No US state requires genetic tests for recreational sports events like these. Not even US Masters Swimming, the national governing body for recreational adult swimming in the US, demands this for any of its events.’
Caldas continued: ‘I understand and accept the consequences. But a five-year suspension is the price I have to pay to protect my most intimate medical information.
‘I’m happy to pay that price – for myself and for all the women who don’t want to undergo invasive testing.’
The ban by the sport’s global governing body comes two months after US Masters Swimming cleared Caldas to compete in female categories at their events after proving they are a ciswoman. Texas Attorney General Paxton sued US Masters Swimming this summer after Caldas and another transgender woman, Jennifer Rines, were allowed to compete at the Spring National Championship in April.
Caldas won the the top prize in the women’s 45-49 age category for the 50 and 100-yard breaststroke, the 50 and 100-yard freestyle, and the 100-yard individual medley in San Antonio, Texas. Rines also finished ahead of dozens of women. The suit alleged that US Masters Swimming undermined the trust of consumers through ‘false, deceptive, and misleading practices’ because it said the other swimmers faced what it described as an unfair disadvantage.
Paxton also said that US Masters Swimming ‘deprived female participants of the opportunity to succeed at the highest levels by letting men win countless events.’
Caldas, who has also competed under the name Hannah, formerly competed in male college competitions, and holds numerous national records in the US Masters. Caldas has been competing at the tournament since at least 2010. In this year’s event, Caldas easily beat the competition in the 50-yard breast stroke, winning by a massive three seconds with a time of 29.74.
A spokeswoman for the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) said the difference in time between Caldas and the other swimmers was ‘absolutely insane’, adding to Reduxx that Caldas was ‘just laughing at these women’. ICONS penned a letter to the US Masters Swimming board implying that by allowing Caldas to compete they had violated their own fair play policies.
