Texas AG launches probe into US Masters Swimming after claims biological male was allowed to compete in women's events
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into US Masters Swimming after a trans competitor placed first in five individual events at the Spring National Championship last month.
Ana Caldas, 47, 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.
And Paxton has now said that he'll be investigating whether Caldas' participation in the tournament violated Texas state law.
'The policy of US Masters Swimming, which allows men to compete in women's events, is reprehensible and could violate Texas's consumer protection laws,' Paxton said in a statement first obtained by OutKick.
'Not only is this policy insulting to female athletes, but it also demonstrates deep contempt for women and may violate Texas law. I will fight to stop these unfair policies and never back down from defending the integrity of women's sports.'
A source also told OutKick that Paxton will be looking into whether US Masters Swimming is engaged in 'false, deceptive and misleading acts and practices.'
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 tournament, 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 (USMS) board implying that by allowing Caldas to compete they had violated their own fair play policies. The Daily Mail previously reached out to Caldas for comment.
The board stipulates that trans women must have had hormonal therapy, and have testosterone levels below 5 nmol/L in order to compete against biological females.
'Transparency in these matters is critical to maintaining the integrity of the competition and the trust of all USMS athletes,' the ICONS letter stated.
'There is no length of time during which testosterone suppression eliminates male advantage; therefore it should not serve as a guideline permitting men to compete in women's swimming.
'At a minimum, it is USMS's responsibility to enforce its current policy.'
ICONS told Reduxx that USMS did not respond to their email flagging concerns. Daily Mail contacted ICONS for confirmation.
The Portuguese-born Caldas was just 0.3 seconds away from qualifying for the London Olympics in the 50m freestyle, and has also starred in several other sports.
Caldas has previously ranked atop the CrossFit rankings in Portugal, per HeCheated.Org, and also signed with weightlifting team the Baltimore Anthem in 2015.
Amid Caldas' recent success in the pool, anti-trans activist Riley Gaines slammed the situation as as 'a real life South Park episode.'
'A man who goes by the name Ana swam five events at the US Masters Swimming National Championship. He won them all,' Gaines fumed on X.
Paxton, who is running against incumbent John Cornyn for a Senate seat, has previously focused on the issue of transgender competitors in women's sports.
In February, it emerged that he was investigating several school districts in Texas to make sure biological boys were not competing in women's sports.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order earlier this year banning transgender athletes from competing in women's sports.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
35 minutes ago
- The Sun
Horror moment jiu-jitsu student left PARALYZED from neck down after being slammed by instructor ‘Sinistro'
THIS is the horror moment a jiu-jitsu student was left paralysed from the neck down after being slammed by his black belt instructor. Jack Greener, a beginner white belt, was seen receiving horrific injuries after his instructor put on a move that struck his neck. 4 4 Footage shows Greener pitting against his instructor, dubbed "Sinistro", inside a training facility. The beginner was on all fours when his instructor flipped him forward before twisting his head and neck. Greener immediately lost control over his body and fell to the ground. He was rushed to the hospital - just days before he was supposed to graduate from college in 2018. The horrific accident crushed his cervical vertebrae, effectively paralysing his entire body below the neck. Greener was forced to spend months in the hospital, recovering from multiple strokes as a result of his injuries, according to the New York Post. He then sued Del Mar Jiu Jitsu club in San Diego for the injuries and blamed his instructor, Iturralde, for his 'dynamic, aggressive grappling style". Greener, now a mountain climber and a popular motivational speaker, was first awarded $56 million by a San Diego jury in 2023. Rahul Ravipudi, one of Greener's attorneys, said: "[The judgement] cements a critical legal victory not only for our client, but also for injured athletes across California by reaffirming that sports instructors and facilities may be held accountable when they unreasonably increase risks beyond those inherent in the sport." BJJ legend Rener Gracie, who was called as an expert witness in the case, said: "The black belt instructor did a technique that placed his entire body weight on Greener's neck, causing him to instantly fall limp and lose all function of his limbs." It comes after a champion martial artist tragically died after a horrific collapse in the ring. Mohit Sharma, 21, was fighting in the second round of a university wushu tournament on Monday in India. People immediately rushed to provide assistance, and medics were called. Sharma, though, could not be revived after a reported suspected heart attack. According to the Indian Express, he was taken to the on-site medical centre then transported to a district hospital. But the young boxer sadly passed away as he was declared dead on arrival at Kharar Government hospital on Monday evening, it was later confirmed. Meanwhile, a mixed martial arts fighter died days after collapsing during a training session. 4 Zach Doran was sparring at his local gym when his heart suddenly stopped. The 18-year-old spent 10 days in a coma before his parents Jason and Tami made the "tough" decision to turn his life support machine off. "He literally fought to his death," his dad, a teacher and American football coach, said. "He was doing a sparring session and during round seven or eight, he just collapsed. "They had thought that he had taken a kick to the chest or a blow to the head, but someone was recording his bouts and it was none of that. "You could tell he was getting tired and just folded over." The "super healthy" teenager, who had been an MMA fighter for two and a half years and was captain of his Varsity American football team, had no underlying health conditions. But his girlfriend Libby Gilmore, 18, believes energy drinks contributed to Zack's "shock" passing. The sportsman reportedly "always had one" before going to the gym or an MMA session, as well as a "pre-workout" - a supplement designed to enhance energy.
Daily Mail
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
New York Knicks identify top candidate for head coach job
The New York Knicks are reportedly zeroing in on current Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd to fill its bench-boss vacancy after firing Tom Thibodeau earlier this week. The Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday to the shock of many of the teams fans. His ouster came after New York's first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2000. After names like Jay Wright, Dan Hurley, Mike Malone, and Johnnie Bryant have been thrown around to replace Thibodeau, New York is focusing on a former player, per Marc Stein. Kidd was a legendary NBA player from 1994 through 2013, with him beginning his coaching career immediately after retirement. Kidd has been the head coach for the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks before a stint as an assistant for the Los Angeles Lakers. Since 2021, Kidd has been the head-man in Dallas, with the team likely to try to retain him if the Knicks make an offer. The Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau and are looking for a new leader for Jalen Brunson and co. The Knicks' choice for their next head coach has to be one that brings a championship banner to Madison Square Garden, or it will be viewed as an unsuccessful tenure. Earlier this week, NBA insider Brian Windhorst has revealed Thibodeau was fired by the Knicks for making personnel changes too late into the season. 'What Tom Thibodeau did to his coaching strategy during the Eastern Conference finals might've assured his firing. What I mean by that is after falling down 2-0 in that series, he made a whole bunch of changes,' Windhorst said on 'Get Up'. 'He changed his starting lineup. Then he extended multiple players into his bench - something that players, team personnel, and people across the league had been begging him to do for months. He also changed some of his strategies within the coaching of the game, and it worked.' Yet, the changes may have been a little too late, in moves that were reactive and not proactive, to keep him with the franchise.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
SailGP roars back into action in New York after Rio cancellation
NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - SailGP teams will shake off the rust in New York this weekend, as the global racing championship gets back into action after a wingsail defect forced a brief hiatus with the cancellation of May's Rio event. Organisers identified the defect after the Australian boat's wing collapsed in San Francisco in March and carried out repair and upgrade work to remedy the issue on the F50 fleet in time for the highly anticipated New York competition. "We had almost two months of learning to take from the previous events," said Brazil's twice Olympic champion Martine Grael, SailGP's first-ever female driver. "We have a lot of changes in our sailing - there are almost too many changes and we know you can only handle a few changes at a time. We're focusing to see what we can adapt here." The recently added Brazil team hope to move up the standings from 10th as the action kicks off on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET (1700 GMT), two and a half hours earlier than planned due to inclement weather. The three-times champions Australia, who hold just a one-point advantage over Britain in the standings, want to impress after making headlines off the water, with new A-List co-owners Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds announced this week. The great equaliser between the celebrity-fronted top dogs and the up-and-comers has been the competition's tech-first approach to sailing, with each of the vessels equipped with 125 sensors continuously feeding data. "We give the data to everybody," SailGP's Chief Technology Officer Warren Jones told Reuters. "Top teams hate it, but the newer teams love it." Jones was able to build the robust analytics operation from "a blank sheet of paper" by cherry-picking from billionaire co-founder Larry Ellison's Oracle capabilities. The hope is that the data points broadcast across the competition can help transform the next generation of fans - newcomers and diehards alike. "There are the basics - you need to know how fast people are going because then it adds the jeopardy of what's going on," said Jones. "Then there's people out there who want to know how many tacks they've done and what the tack is compared to the last tack - we can rate that."
