Transgender swimmer, a University of Pennsylvania senior, previously competed in men’s swimming for three years. Now, he is breaking women’s records, prompting anger amid ongoing controversy about transgender athletes.
Lia Thomas (formerly Will) has participated in a variety of events, including a triathlon with Cornell and Princeton Universities on November 20, where she ‘blasted’ UPenn records for the 200m and 500m Freestyle – times that were faster than almost all other women swimmers in America.
Thomas’ 200m freestyle time was 1:43.47. Thomas’ 4:35.06 would have been enough for bronze at the NCAA Women’s Championships.
This latest debate is part of ongoing arguments about whether trans people should compete alongside athletes of the opposing gender to their birth gender.
Thomas’ transition date is not known, however NCAA regulations state that she must have had one year of testosterone suppression to be eligible to compete.
The last men’s event she attended was on November 16, 2019.
Thomas competed previously for Pennsylvania’s Men’s Swimming Team. Thomas was there for three years, before being forced to retire due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thomas’ last event as part of the men’s swim team will be November 16, 2019.
Thomas, pictured in transition, is currently dominating the women’s swimming records
Lia’s win at the last event has reignited discussion. Lia was an integral part of her team’s success during the 400 free relay. Lia also won in the 100m, 200m or 500m individual events.
Many people are angry at Thomas’ recent victory in the women’s events.
Linda Blade, sport performance coach and sports psychologist responded to Thomas’ most recent event saying that “Well of Course Women’s Records are being Smashed!” Lia was male in the #NCAA for her first three year. But this is wrong!
“We should return to #SexBasedSports!” #SexNotGender will ensure that female athletes are treated fairly.
One individual said that despite the fact that there were many swimmers involved, not one said it was wrong.
One third of the participants said that Lia Thomas was swimming against women, while another agreed.
Another user was outraged that his daughters, who swim competitively, have ‘worked their a**es off’ to get where they are for Thomas to dominate the sport.
Thomas’ success caused controversy regarding transgender athletes competing alongside others opposite to their gender assignments at birth.
Thomas was the star swimmer at high school in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
“My two daughters compete in swimming. They train almost every day, and they practice between 3-4 times per week. Some of them, like many other girls, work for decades. This type of shit is a constant source of anger for me. It isn’t progress.
Pennsylvanian user commented: “I stand behind you and your daughters sir!” It’s absurd on so many levels. Lia Thomas has even said that the competition has so far been extremely rewarding. Yeah I bet! Because you are a male competing with women! Is this allowed?
Others played with the swimmer’s name, saying that she should “add the “r”, while others refused to refer to Thomas as a woman.
He has switched his name from Will Thomas to Lia Thomas. One said that he forgot to put the “r”, at the end of his new title.
“A MAN called Lia Thomas broke all college records,” another claimed.
Another said, “Imagine the women second in line knowing they won’t have the same physical advantage as the man who beats them.”
But criticism wasn’t universal. Kirsti Miller, a sport inclusion educator, shared a few women’s records in swimming and compared them with Thomas’ best.
Thomas’s absence in the record books meant she wasn’t ‘dominating women’s swimming, according to her.
Emma McGee was a former swimmer coach and she supported Lia. She said: “Since nobody else is saying it, congrats to them!”
Thomas was previously a member of the University of Pennsylvania’s male swimming team. She competed there for three consecutive years and then had to take a year off due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Thomas won her last event on November 16, 2019, University of Pennsylvania records show.
Many people were angry that Thomas was allowed to participate in the women’s swim competitions.
According to the NCAA Policy on Transgender Student-Athlete Participation, a trans female must have undergone at least one year of testosterone suppression treatment before being eligible to compete on a women’s team.
According to the rules, a trans male (MTF), student-athlete who has been treated for testosterone suppression for Gender Identity Disorder/Gender Dysphoria or Transsexualism may compete in NCAA competition but cannot compete on a female team. However, he can continue to be a member of a men’s squad until receiving one year of testosterone suppression treatment.
Thomas’ recent successes didn’t draw a harsh response from everyone. There were some who congratulated Thomas and others that pointed out her lack of dominance in the sport.
It is also stated that any trans female (MTF), transgender student-athlete not receiving hormone treatment related to gender transformation may not participate in women’s teams.
Additionally, any sports team classified as mixed because of inclusion of trans women who have had no or minimal testosterone suppression treatment during the previous year, the classification is maintained for the rest of the academic calendar ‘without exception’.
Speaking previously about her ability to continue competing as a trans athlete, Thomas said: ‘Being trans has not affected my ability to do this sport and being able to continue is very rewarding.’
DailyMail.com reached out to Thomas for comments.
Thomas is currently a senior student at the University of Pennsylvania.
Thomas (pictured in the first row right in 2020), stated that it is rewarding to be able continue this sport.
Olympic officials had also revealed earlier in the year that they would be changing rules allowing transgender athletes into women’s competitions.
In a statement earlier in the year, The International Olympic Committee stated they are launching a new policy to allow transgender women to participate in Olympic sports.
Officials claim that the 2015 guidelines are no longer appropriate and need to be updated in order to keep up with scientific and testing advances.
In an attempt to get away from the current one-size-fits all approach, there will be a push for every sport to establish their own rules.
And according to The Guardian, the new guidelines will suggest that trans women should no longer be required to reduce their testosterone levels to compete.
And in a reversal of the IOC’s previous stance, the new guidelines, set to be rolled out after the Beijing Winter Olympics, say that there should be no presumption that trans women have an automatic advantage over other women.
The IOC, however, will allow individual sports organizations to establish their rules regarding trans athletes.
This was after Laurel Hubbard, a weightlifter and the first openly transgender Olympian to participate at the Olympics.
The bill was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis earlier in the year, which prohibits transgender women from participating on Florida’s public school team for students athletes who were born as boys.
International Olympic Committee (IOC), is changing its guidelines for trans athletes. Trans women shouldn’t be required to lower their testosterone to compete.
The New Zealander’s Olympic debut, which was the subject of much controversy prior to the Games, did not prove fruitful.
Hubbard, 43 years old, transitioned to weightlifting in 2012. She was eliminated from the +87 kg (+190lb women’s) competition, without having registered a lift.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed an October bill banning athletes from participating in sports with the same gender they identify. It also mandates that they compete according to the information on their birth certificates.
Texas signed the legislation on October 25th, making it the sixth such state. Its proponents claimed that the bill, HB-25, would ‘protect girls’. Critics, however, have branded the measure a cruel’ and â€TMdiscriminatory’ bill that further’stigmatizes’ trans-athletes.
In January the bill will become law. It overrides a state provision that permitted trans students to apply for a court order to allow them to choose the gender they want to be with their birth certificates.
Texas law states that transgender athletes must perform their assigned sex as they are born according to the October legislation signed by Governor Greg Abbott.
Texas had already banned trans-athletes from participating in state competitions under the University Interscholastic League’s guidelines. This governs high school athletics.
This new law passed the House of Representatives 76-61, and the Senate 19-12. Before reaching Abbott, Abbott refused to comment publicly on it while signing it.
And in June this year, Florida’s Republican governor signed a bill barring transgender females from playing on public school teams intended for student athletes born as girls, plunging the state into the national culture war over transgender rights.
As Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill into Florida’s law, he stated that Florida’s girls would play girl sports while boys would play boy sports. We’re going make that a reality.
The law, sure to face court challenges, inflames an already contentious discussion unfolding nationally as Republican-controlled states move to limit the rights of LGBTQ people. Florida could also be subject to severe financial penalties.
Alabama, Arkansas Mississippi, Montana Montana, Tennessee, West Virginia and West Virginia already have similar legislation. South Dakota’s governor also signed an executive ordering supporting sports bans. Each state has Republican governors.
Advocates of sports bills argue they are essential to ensure fairness.
DeSantis, accompanied by several female teenager athletes, signed the bill. The law is necessary in order to provide fairness for female athletes across the state, DeSantis said.
He stated, “We will go on the basis of biology and not ideology, when we’re doing sports.”
An advocacy group called the Human Rights Campaign and stated that it will challenge Florida’s law as falsely discriminatory. This premise threatened transgender children’s wellbeing.
“Transgender kids and girls are children; transgender boys are girls.” Alphonso Dave, President of Human Rights Campaign, stated that transgender children deserve to have the chance to enjoy sports with friends and as part of a team.
Caitlyn, an Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner said that trans women should not be allowed to compete in male sports.
Jenner was one of America’s top decathletes in the 1970s. She won gold at the Montreal Olympics 1976 in 1976. Jenner announced in 2015 that she is a transgender woman.
Jenner responded to a question regarding transgender women playing in sport with women. It’s not fair for biological boys to compete in girls’ school sports. It’s just not fair. We must protect the sports of girls in schools.
Only a third believe that transgender athletes should compete in teams that aren’t matched their gender, according to a survey earlier this year.
Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey — conducted May 3 – 18 by telephone interviews with 1,016 randomly selected adults living in the US — showed that 62 percent said transgender athletes should only be allowed to play on sports teams that correspond with the sex they were assigned at birth.
Only 34% of respondents said that they should be allowed on teams matching their gender identity.
Gallup researchers stated that sports policies regarding transgender athletes were a relatively new issue for Americans. Their opinions have also changed in the past, sometimes in large ways.
“Sizable Majorities of Americans support transgender military service. However, this measure on sports policy suggests they don’t see the two issues as one.