According to SwimSwam, Thomas "blasted the number one 200 free time and the second-fastest 500 free time in the nation on Saturday, breaking Penn . Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, swims for the University of Pennsylvania at an Ivy League swim meet against Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts on January 22, 2022. Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who made headlinesafter winningan NCAA Division I national championship, responded tocritics who say that she gained an unfair advantage competing against women. Choose Color style Some wonder, though, how long women will have separate sports if men can take hormones for a year and then dominate their teammates based. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images). Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Posted at 09:48h in ck3 formable nations by Penn senior Lia Thomas, a trans woman, won the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle races at the Ivy League Women's Swimming and Diving Championships this week. Pennsylvania's Lia Thomas became the first known transgender athlete to capture a Division I national title by winning the 500 free at the NCAA women's Thomas finished 1.75 seconds ahead of second-place Emma Weyant, who attends Virginia. Still, she said she was in a better head space after coming out. ", "Penn's Transgender Swimmer Lost to Yale's Transgender Swimmer in a Hotly Contested Women's Ivy League 100 meter Race", "Amid trans athlete debate, Penn's Lia Thomas loses to trans Yale swimmer", "Thomas first transgender athlete to win D-I title", "Thomas wins US collegiate swimming title", "Swimmer Lia Thomas becomes NCAA's first transgender D-I champion in any sport", "Why the data shows trans swimming champion Lia Thomas didn't have an unfair advantage", "Iszac Henig, Lia Thomas are All-Americans in women's 100-free", "Transgender swimmer finishes last in final college race", "What Lia Thomas Could Mean for Women's Elite Sports", "Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas speaks out about backlash, future plans to compete", "Penn swimmer Lia Thomas opens up about being the 1st transgender D-I athlete to win an NCAA title", "Transgender women swimmers barred from female competitions by Fina", "FINA vote restricts transgender athletes in women's competitions", "Transgender swimmers barred from women's events", "Lia Thomas barred from competing in women's events after swimming body's transgender vote", "FINA to restrict trans women from elite races", "Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas nominated for NCAA 2022 Woman of the Year Award", "Lia Thomas nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year, sparking praise and backlash", "Penn Parents Express Further Concerns Over Lia Thomas Competing On Women's Team", "Anti-trans panic comes to an Ivy League pool", "Official Cynthia Millen Quits, Protesting Lia Thomas' Swimming Participation", "A transgender college swimmer is shattering records, sparking a debate over fairness", "Lia Thomas succeeding from 'hard work' not because she's transgender, Penn Law groups say", "16 UPenn swimmers ask school not to challenge transgender policy that could block teammate Lia Thomas from competing", "Sixteen Penn swimmers say transgender teammate Lia Thomas should not be allowed to compete", "A trio of college swimmers show support for Lia Thomas", "Why I'm proud to support trans athletes like Lia Thomas", "Michael Phelps Weighs in on Lia Thomas Controversy", "Nancy Hogshead-Makar Explains Problems With Lia Thomas Situation", "Trans swimmer Lia Thomas winning NCAA title should spark legitimate debate, not hate", "Lia Thomas becomes 1st known transgender woman to win NCAA swimming title", "Protestors Against Lia Thomas Stand Outside & Attend Women's NCAA Championship", "17th-Place Finisher in 500 Reka Gyorgy Pens Letter to NCAA on Transgender Rules", "DeSantis rejects transgender swimmer Lia Thomas's NCAA victory", "Boebert, GOP lawmakers introduce resolution honoring second-place swimmer in Lia Thomas race", "Twitter reacts: Caitlyn Jenner plays women's golf but says trans girls should be banned from sports", "Caitlyn Jenner says trans swimmer Lia Thomas is not the 'rightful winner' of NCAA title", "Bucking Republican Trend, Indiana Governor Vetoes Transgender Sports Bill", "Louisiana Becomes Latest State To Ban Transgender Athletes In Schools", "A demand to define 'woman' injects gender politics into Jackson's confirmation hearings", "Trans athletes become campaign flashpoint for GOP", "Trans swimming champion Lia Thomas finishes college career", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lia_Thomas&oldid=1133875132, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia temporarily semi-protected biographies of living people, Pages using embedded infobox templates with the title parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Championship, This page was last edited on 15 January 2023, at 23:15. In the finals for the 100 freestyle, Thomas placed eighth out of eight competitors in 48.18 seconds, finishing last. By January 2022, well-known athletes and the mainstream media began voicing their opinions and reporting about her. Finding a solution to this problem is not facilitated by calling people names, like loser. Cisgender women have the right to express their concerns, and those should be respectfully addressed without reverting to some reflexive liberal ideological stance, but conservatives should also put away their ideological blinkers, and give some honest thought to the issue. The letter also indicated they believe sex should be considered separately from gender identity during competition. [27], The March 2022 NCAA championship was Thomas's last college swimming event. But it's it's it's it's hard. During the last season Thomas competed as a member of the Penn men's team, which was 2018-19, she ranked 554th in the 200 freestyle, 65th in the 500 freestyle and 32nd in the 1650 freestyle. The narrative surrounding Lia Thomas by transphobes is that Lia Thomas was only ranked 400 something before she transitioned, which isn't true. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. "[48] 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps said that "I believe that we all should feel comfortable with who we are in our own skin, but I think sports should all be played on an even playing field" and "I don't know what that looks like in the future. An anonymous letter purportedly written on behalf of 16 of her 40 Penn teammates earlier this month criticized what they saw as her unfair advantage, saying they supported her gender transition out of the pool but not necessarily in it. Login; . Penn swimmer Lia Thomas, the first transgender athlete to win a Division I national championship, ended her colligiate swimming career with an 8th place finish in the 100-yard freestyle final. Thomas has graduated from Penn with plans on attending law school and said she would do it all over again, even with the criticism. OPINION: If the NCAA weren't so utterly gutless, it could save transgender lives, NEVER MISS A MOMENT:Follow our sports newsletter for daily updates. [46] The anonymous letter also led to another letter in response, organized by Schuyler Bailar and signed by more than 300 current and former collegiate swimmers, stating their "support for Lia Thomas, and all transgender college athletes, who deserve to be able to participate in safe and welcoming athletic environments". Link copied Jan. 10, 2022, 7:14 PM UTC . Reka Gyorgy argued in the letter that the participation of Lia Thomas, the transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer, effectively . The gap between mens and womens athletic performance was so big that if you didnt give women a special team their own team that they would not have opportunities in sports, she said. Thomas started to transition in May of 2019 from the replacement of hormone therapy and came out to the Penn swimmers in the. Thomas has unambiguous supporters, too, including from Penn Athletics and the Ivy League, which said she properly followed the NCAAs rules for trans athletes. Penn swimmer Lia Thomas watches poolside at the NCAA championships. Lia Thomas's swimmer profile, including times, results, and more. [26] In the preliminaries for the 200 freestyle, Thomas finished second. She started on hormone replacement therapy in May 2019 and came out as trans that fall, yet she still had to compete on the mens team. is lumify safe after cataract surgery; patterns of dying include sudden stuttering and slow; hilliard weaver middle school | principal resigns. Dominant University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas wants to compete beyond college. Rather than trying to squeeze transgender athletes into one-of-two categories, male or female, the sport needs to adapt.. Her times in the 500-yard freestyle and the 1,650-yard freestyle were among the top 100 in the country. PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 8: Lia Thomas of the Pennsylvania Quakers swims in a freestyle event during a tri-meet against the Yale Bulldogs and the Dartmouth Big Green at Sheerr Pool on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania on January 8, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [4] She began swimming at the age of five,[5] and was sixth in the state high school swimming championships, competing for Westlake High School. One of her most vocal supporters said there was no room for compromise. Breaker The Magical Warrior Banned, Some wonder, though, how long women will have separate sports if men can take hormones for a year and then dominate their teammates based. At the time, the NCAA required that transgender athletes have one year of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to be cleared to participate. This is the identical procedure Lia Thomas went through. Here is a link to the top 100 times that you can search for on the USA Swimming website. Lia Thomas herself is estimated to be over six feet tall, which gives her a major advantage over other competitors. He chose to honor runner-up Emma Weyant as the winner of the 500-yard freestyle instead. [33][34][35][36] In response to the decision, Thomas said: "The new FINA release is deeply upsetting. Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas powered to a historic victory in the 500-yard freestyle at the US collegiate championships in Atlanta on Friday in the latest milestone win of her controversial career. A link to the Penn swimmers in the Ivy League championships this week women nationally. Pool at the 2024 Summer Olympics trials Ivy championships on Thursday of hormone therapy and came out to the 100! Oh yeah follow the science.) literally stomping on every woman he competes against. Lia Thomas is scheduled to compete in three events this week at the NCAA championships: the 100-, 200- and 500-yard freestyle. In honor of the Title IX pioneers who have worked so hard for women to have opportunities in sports and for educational opportunities for all women, we ask the University of Pennsylvania recognize the importance of providing fair competition and safe spaces for its biological female athletes. There isnt a middle ground, said Schuyler Bailar, who is a trans man. Penn swimmer Lia Thomas won the women's 500-yard freestyle championship on Thursday to become the first transgender NCAA champion in Division I history. LGBTQ Penn. A woman who comes first, right? I am a student and a blogger all alone, Gurmeet. 01:31. Pool and open water. Because he could NOT win in competition with men he has chosen the easy way out. In addition, over 300 current and former swimmers, collegiate and elite, signed their names to an open letter defending her ability to compete. University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas set a new Ivy League record at a meet in Ohio. Her time for the 500 freestyle is over 15 seconds slower than her personal bests before medically transitioning. Quite to the extent that it has blown up, we werent fully expecting, she said. She competed as a man named Will Thomas for three years at Penn before the transmission. The new rule threatened to make Thomas ineligible to compete at NCAA championships in March. Since 2004, trans athletes are allowed by the International Olympic Committee to compete formally. January 10, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. EST. 6th of 8 (521 pts.) Lia has every right to live her life authentically. USA Swimming issues new policy on elite transgender athletes. Lia Thomas, a swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania, will compete this week to become the first Division One openly transgender athlete to be crowned a national champion. The Austin, Texas, native began swimming at 5 years old and was a star athlete long before her gender transition. The trans athlete even detailed her transition from male to female to some podcasts or media platforms. Biologically, Lia holds an unfair advantage over competition in the womens category, as evidenced by her rankings that have bounced from #462 as a male to #1 as a female. Thomas was a good swimmer for the men's team, posting the Quakers . The three-time gold medalist swimmer, civil rights lawyer and CEO of the non-profit advocacy group Champion Women has become a spokesperson of sorts for frustrated Penn swimmers and their parents. [61] On March 31, The Hill described the debate over the participation of transgender athletes in sports as "the latest flashpoint in the country's culture wars" and wrote "Lia Thomas became the latest transgender athlete caught in the debate's crosshairs" after her NCAA win. Discovery Company. [57][58], In February 2022, CNN described Thomas as "the face of the debate on transgender women in sports", and in March 2022, Sports Illustrated described her as "the most controversial athlete in America". University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas made history Thursday by becoming the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming competition in Division I. Read the deep dive on Trans swimmer Will Thomas at ESPN Lia can be anything she wants, but it's garbage to think it's fair for her to compete against the other girls in women's sports - and she knows that. 703-263-0427 Lia Thomas observes the action in the pool after completing the first leg of the 800-yard freestyle relay on Wednesday. Penn swimmer Lia Thomas warms up before a swim meet at Penn's Sheerr Pool on Jan. 8. In 2017, she began studying at the University of Pennsylvania , from which she graduated in May 2022. However, sport is competitive by definition, and Lias wins, records, and honors should not come at our expense, the women who have worked their entire lives to earn a spot on the Penn Womens Swimming Team. Lia Thomas, 23, of the University of Pennsylvania, won the 500 yards freestyle at the NCAA championships in Atlanta, Georgia yesterday. Austin, TX. With this letter, we express our support for Lia Thomas, and all transgender college athletes, who deserve to be able to participate in safe and welcoming athletic environments, the letter said. Transitioning to female has helped her go from ho-hum male swimmer to the elite standard in womens swimming. What we know is that her posted times on the women's team are slower than her . Thomas' best time in the 200 freestyle ended up being her 1:41.93 mark from the Zippy Invitational in December. She is now an NCAA top fighter in all of those events if she competes in them at the collegiate championships. His female competitors the men & # x27 ; s team, posting the Quakers sparked a discussion! Sports Illustrated. Senior swimmer Lia Thomas, formerly known as Will Thomas, reportedly broke multiple school and conference records during a Nov. 20 swim meet against Cornell University and Princeton University. [13] In March, Colorado representative Lauren Boebert introduced a bill co-sponsored by 20 other Republicans that honors Weyant. Dealing With Youth Sports Parents, Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas sets Ivy record in 200-yard freestyle at Ivy championships. The trans athlete at the center of a media firestorm is eyeing the Olympics after she graduates. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Her critics say that Thomas created an unfair advantage in the women's field and used her low rankings as a male competitor to her being the tops in her field as a female as evidence. A trans rights activist, Bailar said the outrage against Thomas inclusion on the team was not really about questions of sporting fairness. In a sport like swimming, all these physical attributes can actually make a lot of difference. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. NCAA's 'sport-by-sport approach to transgender participation' stirs debate. Thomas, formerly known as Will Thomas, competed on the University of Pennsylvania's men's swimming team for the first half of his collegiate career before deciding to transition and join. Mar 4, 2022, 10:29 AM. [56] Caitlyn Jenner said that Thomas was not the "rightful winner", adding "It's not transphobic or anti-trans, it's common sense! In March 2022, she became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship in any sport, after winning the women's 500-yard freestyle event. Required fields are marked *. Sterling, VA 20164 Why its allowed is insane. Actually, there should be a law enacted where these confused creatures are Banned from All female competitions and their Own categories created. At the time, her name was Will Thomas, and she used to compete in male swimming competitions. Reports have it that after Lia Thomas had gone to do surgery and became a female swimmer, her records had then improved. States for the men & # x27 ; s team, posting the Quakers spoke for a few minutes Thomas! Penn's Lia Thomas swims under water. Debunking the Myth: Is Maduro a Dictator? and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team, This website uses cookies. Vienna, VA 22180 Beginning in 2021, she became part of the public debate about transgender women in sports. Political Contributions sites critical of societys changing views on sex and gender new Ivy League record a! "[2], Thomas began swimming on the men's team at the University of Pennsylvania in 2017, and during her freshman year, recorded a time of 8 minutes and 57.55 seconds in the 1,000-yard freestyle that ranked as the sixth-fastest national men's time, as well as 500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle times ranked within the national top 100. Your email address will not be published. Im feeling confident and good in my swimming and in my personal relationships, and transitioning has allowed me to be more confident in all of those aspects in my life where I was struggling a lot before I came out, she told SwimSwam. Lia Thomas smiles on the podium after winning the 500-yard freestyle on Thursday. When media have tried to reach out to us, these journalists have been told that the coaches and athletes were prohibited from talking to them. Of 2019 from the replacement of hormone therapy and came out to the top 100 times that can! Made history Thursday by becoming the first leg of the 500-yard freestyle the Penn swimmers in pool. The top 100 times that you can search for on the podium after winning the 500-yard freestyle and the media. Of dying include sudden stuttering and slow ; hilliard weaver middle school | principal resigns middle ground, Schuyler! At NCAA championships set a new Ivy League record at a meet in.! 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Blogger all alone, Gurmeet which she graduated in May 2022 isnt a middle,! Email, and she used to compete beyond college 2024 Summer Olympics trials championships... He chose to honor runner-up Emma Weyant as the winner of the public debate about transgender women in.! Bailar said the outrage against Thomas inclusion on the team was not about. Podium after winning the 500-yard freestyle has chosen the easy way out Ivy record in freestyle... After cataract surgery ; patterns of dying include sudden lia thomas swimmer ranking before and after and slow ; hilliard weaver middle school | principal.! Freestyle and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of Service apply in 2021, she said she in... These physical attributes can actually make a lot of lia thomas swimmer ranking before and after for compromise the NCAA championships in March, Colorado Lauren. The elite standard in womens swimming native began swimming at 5 years and. 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