KUWAIT: The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) unanimou sly rejected an appeal by Leah Thomas against the policy and rules of the World Aquatics Federation headed by Kuwait’s Hussein Al-Musallam. This has been seen as a victory for values and equal opportunity in the games. The appeal was to allow women to compete with men, and vice versa. This is a confirmation of world aquatics general policy and rules that were implemented and will remain in effect in all international aquatics championships.

The Federation will continue to adopt an environment that strengthens justice and equal opportunity for athletes of both genders and safeguards women. “We must protect the rights of our athletes during championships. We must also maintain competitive fairness, especially protecting women in the World Aquatics Championships.

Our policies and practices are always evaluated to represent fairness and the basic values of society, and we will continue in our commitment to work cooperatively with all those interested to support the principles of inclusivity in Aquatics games,” President of World Aquatics Captain Hussein Al-Musallam said.

“We are confident that our policy represents a fair approach. Leah Thomas changed her gender from male to female during the secondary school stage, and the Aquatics Federation’s policy was approved during the general assembly on July 20, 2022, following the formation of specialized medical, legal, and human rights committees,” he added.