At the Cornwall County Masters Championship, Anne Isabella Coombes, a 67-year-old transgender swimmer, made a significant cultural and literal impact.
Coombes, a lifelong swimmer from Reading, England, had planned to compete in the women’s category. But new regulations from Swim England moved her to the men’s/open division, despite her long transition and years of competing as a woman.
Rather than submit quietly, she chose a nuanced act of “malicious compliance.” She swam topless in the men’s division, wearing only the same trunks male competitors do.
“If they want me in the men’s category, I’ll compete like a man, with no top,” Coombes explained to local press. “This policy is not thought through. It singles out trans women.”
The gesture wasn’t about drawing attention; it was a deliberate highlight of the absurdity of a system that declares her a man in competition yet demands she dress as a woman. “They told me a woman’s swimsuit is mandatory, even though I couldn’t swim as a woman,” she said. “Their logic is contradictory.”
Swim England’s 2023 policy reform eliminated gender-based splits in masters swim meets, consolidating everyone not designated as cis female into an “open” category. Its stated aim was to address performance disparities, though many critics say it oversimplifies gender, ignores nuance, and stigmatizes trans and nonbinary athletes.
Coombes, a member of the Reading Swimming Club for three decades, began her transition during the pandemic. She competed in women’s events, including a 2022 national swim, without incident. However, the new rules forced her into a category that didn’t align with her identity.
“I’ve never claimed I’m coming to win competitions or take places from anyone,” Coombes told Bored Panda. She noted that in the women’s events she entered, she came in second, well behind the record-breaker.
Her protest wasn’t decoration. It was a spotlight.
“This isn’t a stunt,” she told reporters. “It’s a statement. Trans people aren’t a threat. But the policies treat us like we are.”
The move has sparked a mixture of empathy and backlash. On social media, some trans-friendly voices applauded her clarity and bravery:
“Brave woman. I’m proud of her,” wrote one Reddit user.
But others doubled down on conservative sentiment, either questioning fairness or mocking the protest.
Anne’s act comes amid a wave of heated debate about trans inclusion in sports, particularly when old definitions of gender collide with lived experience and nuanced realities. She says this protest isn’t just for herself:
“I want trans people to be seen, not sidelined,” she said. “If the rules insist I’m a man in competition, then I’ll swim like one, but you’ll also see the costs of that erasure.”
Anne Isabella Coombes may not have taken home medals, but she scored something more enduring: attention, empathy, and a poignant reminder that policy can’t ignore humanity.
