Giaan Rooney says rules around transgender athletes needs urgent resolution

Olympic gold medallist turned commentator Giaan Rooney says the debate over the eligibility of transgender athletes must be addressed immediately to remove any ‘grey areas’.

Giaan Rooney will be part of the Prime Video commentary team for the 2022 Australian Swimming Championships that run from May 18 to 22 in Adelaide.

Olympic gold medallist turned media commentator Giaan Rooney says the debate over the eligibility of transgender athletes to participate in certain sporting categories must be addressed immediately to remove any “grey areas”.

The 39-year-old Queenslander said the controversy surrounding the participation of transgender competitors would continue until action was to taken to set out clear guidelines for all athletes.

“There needs to be a lot more research done to make those guidelines as clear and simple as possible because where it won’t work is if there are grey areas,” she said. “If the rules aren’t clear and if a transgender athlete is successful, that leaves room for conjecture.”

Rooney, who retired from swimming at 23 and has never swum a lap of an Olympic pool since, said the International Swimming Federation, FINA, needed to release clear rules on the issue sooner rather than later.

Rooney, who lives on a macadamia farm in northern NSW with her husband Sam Levett and two children, will join Prime Video’s commentary team for the 2022 Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide.

Border closures last year prevented her from covering the Tokyo Olympics for the Seven Network – the commentary team was based out of Melbourne – so she’s eager to get back poolside after a hiatus.

Rooney, who has been working in the media industry since she quit the sport in 2006, including stints as a presenter, a contestant on Dancing on Ice, and even a brief period as a weather presenter, said she was fortunate to have had such a longstanding career outside of the pool.

“I came into ‘media land’ at a time when there were those opportunities available, but media is very different today,” she said.

The Australian Swimming Championships will screen on Prime Video from May 18 to 22.

Originally published as Giaan Rooney says rules around transgender athletes needs urgent resolution