Hannah Caldas’s swimming career reached a turning point in October 2025. The Aquatics Integrity Unit imposed five years of ineligibility, ending October 18, 2030, and disqualified her results from June 19, 2022, through October 17, 2024. The consequences reached backward into past achievements as well as forward into future competition. aquaticsintegrity.com

At the center of the dispute was her refusal to undergo requested eligibility testing. World Aquatics cited violations of its Integrity Code and competition-category eligibility requirements. Reporting on the decision said the prohibition covered participation in World Aquatics events as both an athlete and an official. swimmingworldmagazine.com

However, the supplied article’s description of Caldas as transgender should not be treated as established fact. Swimming World reported that an earlier U.S. Masters Swimming review found documentation indicating she was assigned female at birth and identifies as female. That distinction complicates the simplified narrative presented in some headlines. swimmingworldmagazine.com

Caldas described the requested chromosomal testing as costly and an intrusion into private medical information. She said she accepted the consequences of declining to comply and announced her retirement. Her stated choice was to leave competitive swimming rather than submit to the testing. swimmingworldmagazine.com

The case raises difficult questions about how sporting bodies verify eligibility while respecting athletes’ privacy. It also demands careful reporting: a disciplinary sanction establishes that rules were found to have been violated, but it should not become a substitute for evidence about someone’s medical history or identity.