Married At First Sight star Hayley Vernon has applauded the recent ban on a competitive trans swimmer from competing in the Olympic women’s race.
Transgender athlete Lia Thomas’s demand to be allowed to compete against women at the Olympics suffered a fatal blow after she lost a crucial court case.
Now, Hayley, 37, took to Instagram on Thursday to celebrate Lia’s exclusion from the competition, saying the ban was a ‘step in the right direction’.
The former adult content creator posted an article announcing Lia’s lawsuit loss on her Stories, writing, “This is a step in the right direction for women in sports!”
Lia had asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn a ban on biological males competing against females in the hope of racing at the Games.
Hayley Vernon, 37, (pictured) from Married At First Sight cheers the recent ban on a competitive trans swimmer from competing in the Olympic women’s race
She first came to prominence after becoming the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA college title in 2022 and has since been banned from competing against biological women at international events due to a regulation change.
World Aquatics has changed its policy so that transgender women can only compete in women’s races if they complete their transition at age 12.
Lia argued that these rules should be declared ‘invalid and unlawful’, violating the Olympic Charter and the World Aquatics Convention.
Transgender athlete Lia Thomas, 25, (pictured)’s demand to be allowed to compete against women at the Olympics is dealt a fatal blow after she loses a crucial court case
Now Hayley has taken to Instagram on Thursday to celebrate Lia’s exclusion from the competition, saying the ban was a ‘step in the right direction’
In a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, they concluded that Lia was ‘not entitled to participate in the eligibility to participate in WA competitions’.
World Aquatics welcomed the news, calling it a “major step forward in our efforts to protect women’s sport.”
The group told the outlet: “World Aquatics is committed to fostering an environment that promotes fairness, respect and equal opportunity for athletes of all genders and we reaffirm this commitment.”
Lia had asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn a ban on biological males competing against females in the hope of racing at the Games, but was denied.
They introduced their new rules after Lia defeated Olympic silver medalist Emma Weyant by 1.75 seconds to win NCAA gold.
In a scientific paper supporting their ban on those who have ‘undergone any part of male puberty’, WA said swimmers like Lia retained physical advantages.
They said such benefits included endurance, strength, speed, power and lung size, even after lowering their testosterone levels through medication.
On Wednesday, the court ruled that Lia had no standing to challenge the transgender policy.