A second female swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania has aired her frustrations and fury as her transgender teammate Lia Thomas continues to smash records.
All members of the team were urged not to talk to media, and one swimmer was granted anonymity.
Nevertheless, their teammate offered to speak out about how UPenn swimmers feel over Thomas’s ‘lack fairness’. Thomas has broken record after record in the pool.
Thomas (22 years old) won Sunday’s 1,650 yard freestyle in 38 seconds less than her teammate Anna Sofia Kalandaze. This was the end of a record-breaking weekend.
After transitioning, Lia Thomas (22 years old) now holds the record for women’s college swimming.
The captions for the UPenn Swimming and Diving teams are: Ladies at beach, a post starting January 2020
The University of Pennsylvania’s second female swimmer, a woman from the University of Pennsylvania, has opened up to express her dismay at Lia Thomas continuing to break records as a transgender athlete
Thomas was victorious in 15:59.71. Anna Kalandaze (UPenn) came second in 16:37.44.
Thomas’s victory was an unprecedented achievement for both the Zippy Meet as well as the pool in which the event was taking place. In addition, she broke 2 US women’s record times in earlier races at this same event.
Thomas’s performance was seconded by an anonymous swimmer who said that Penn swimmers were distraught and weeping because they knew the outcome.
“They are so discouraged that no matter how hard they work, it will all end in their defeat,” the source said to Outkick. They can usually get behind the blocks, knowing they have out-trained their competition and that they will win. Outkick was told by a source.
Another anonymous female UPenn swimmer stated that she had spoken with her teammates about Thomas (right), their dissatisfaction with Thomas’ (left) position on the team, but that he ‘just loves winning’.
Lia Thomas was victorious in three events this weekend and she also set three school records, including two Ivy League records. On December 3, she set the 500 yard freestyle record.
“Now, they have to get behind the scenes knowing that no matter what happens they will not win. This is really harming everyone.
“Usually, everybody claps and everyone cheers when someone wins. Lia touched the wall. It was silent inside. The crowd cheered when Anna Kalandadze, a Penn swimmer finished second.
What stings the swimmers the most is that the records are being set by a swimmer who didn’t even make the first-team when she was competing as a man in the All-Ivy league during the 2018-19 season.
Thomas, however, broke the 500-yard freestyle record as a female with a time last Friday of 4:34.06 at Zippy Meet. Kalandaze was 38 seconds behind her on Sunday. She won the race 14 seconds quicker than Thomas.
On Saturday, she took the 200-yard freestyle win in 1:41.93, seven seconds faster than her closest rival. This makes her the fastest US female to do that event.
As the pair take a photo together, Hannah Liu (left), a tall swimmer towers above her UPenn swimming teammate Hannah Liu.
Thomas, pictured before she transitioned, competed in men’s swimming for UPenn for three years. She was then forced to take a year off due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The men’s last event she participated in was November 16, 2019.
Thomas (formerly Will) has never competed as a transgender swimmer in swimming meets. As Will, Thomas competed on the men’s team for two full seasons.
She won three events last weekend and established three school records including two Ivy League records.
Outkick received information anonymously from a source who claimed that Thomas may have been heard bragging after the race.
Thomas said it before she bragging about her accomplishments to her fellow teammates, “That was so easy. I was cruising.” “Attah, at least I’m still number. She claimed she wasn’t happy with the time spent in the 500, but said that “At least I’m still No.1 in the Country.”
She’s clearly No. According to OutKick, she is the No. 1 athlete in the country due to her obvious physical advantages after going through puberty with male testosterone and training for many years.
“Of course, you’re number one. When you beat a lot of women, it’s the number one in the country. This is not something you should brag about.
A record-breaking performance by Lia in the 500m Freestyle was posted recently by the UPenn swimmer team (pictured).
Thomas, pictured here in 2016 and 2017 respectively, was an outstanding swimmer at high school.
This is really upsetting because it’s our desire to be acknowledged and praised for all of the hard work we have done. But, this keeps us from being recognized. Put Lia out of the picture — we have a really good team this year. The best team we have in years is ours, but that’s getting overshadowed. [Lia]According to OutKick, the source claimed that it was.
“Even without Lia we were able to win the Ivy League this season, which was a big deal for us. It is a sport we love and train hard every day. Swimming is my favorite sport. Because I love swimming, I do it. I’ve loved it for my entire life, so this is an insult to the NCAA’s inability to protect women’s sport integrity.
Penn has publicly supported Thomas, and she says that Penn is supporting her. Mike Schnur as coach also lies low and stays out of the spotlight.
According to the source, he is simply following NCAA rules. The situation is beyond his control.
The Zippy Invitational video on Sunday shows Thomas (circled) beating her nearest competitors, while consistently remaining ahead of them in the women’s 1,650 meter freestyle.
Because of this non-negotiable position, teammates feel that they are forced to voice their opinions and face repercussions.
They claim that they love all people, but their interest in Lia is in conflict with hers. We support Lia in her right to make life decisions. However, we cannot allow Lia to take that decision without affecting the rights of others. ‘Your right doesn’t supersede everyone else’s right.’
“I don’t know how to solve this problem, but I do know that it isn’t the right solution.” Although people might talk about how transgenders have been marginalized, and that is something to do with helping them, you cannot help transgenders by marginalizing. [biological] women.’
“I’m certain biological women won’t be equal with transgender girls, regardless of what.
Anna Sofia Kalandaze (University of Pennsylvania) finished 38 seconds behind Thomas in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
Lia, pictured, told SwimSwam that her teammates have been ‘unbelievably supportive since the beginning,’ but the unidentified female swimmer told OutKick that support is ‘fake’
Thomas stated that her team is there for her.
“The whole team have been so supportive, from teammates to coaches. Mike was a great supporter and friend throughout this whole process. I am grateful for his and the support of everyone on the team. I feel very supported. Thomas stated in an interview that she was treated the same as any other woman on the team.
Thomas’s support was faked, however, Thursday saw Thomas speak anonymously.
‘When the whole team is together, we have to be like, “Oh my gosh, go Lia, that’s great, you’re amazing.“ It’s very fake,’ she said.
“The Ivy League does not have a speed league for swimming. It’s absurd that there could be an NCAA champion.” The swimmer said that it was unheard of for someone to come from the Ivy League.
Thomas’s triumph has been accompanied by controversy about transgender athletes competing alongside other genders. Some claim that Thomas broke the records set for women. Lia 2020
“On paper, these numbers would be female world records if Lia Thomas goes back to Will Thomas’s best times. You are faster than any other time [Olympic swimmer]Katie Ledecky attended college. He is faster than every other Olympian that you could imagine. He won three of his events in record time. [female]World records.
Also on Thursday, Thomas, gave an interview to SwimSwam, which covers college and Olympic swimming news, and praised the fairness of the controversial IOC guidelines on inclusivity saying they keep ‘competitional integrity going.’
She said that she thought the guidelines were very helpful and did a good job of encouraging inclusion while maintaining competitional integrity.
“Each sport must have its own eligibility criteria to determine what constitutes unfair advantage. Everybody is able to compete in the category they’re most comfortable with unless there’s a proven unfair advantage that they have,’ she explained.
“I am just happy to be still able to swim, and I love competing and seeing how fast I can get. It’s an ever-changing evolution of who I am.
“I’m proud to be able to swim and compete, I’m proud. They’re well-suited. Thomas said that he was happy with the team and his coaches were also happy.
Penn’s pool team against Dartmouth will return on January 8, with Thomas in line for the NCAA title in March.
“This cloud is so big that it covers everything. Thomas, a teammate, said that there was a cloud over the locker room.
Thomas, pictured here recently, is a Senior at The University of Pennsylvania
Women’s sport has seen controversy with transgender athletes
Transgender runner CeCe Telfer
The debate surrounding trans women has erupted into a ruckus about women’s sport participation.
In June, transgender hurdler CeCe Telfer was barred from competing in the US Olympic trials after she failed to prove she could meet the testosterone requirements at the time.
World Athletics established a 5 nmol/L testosterone limit in 2019 to allow women to race in distances of 400m and 1 mile.
Chelsea Wolfe, BMX-rider from the USA, was also an alternate.
She was the first transgender Olympian for Team USA. She was not able to compete in the Olympics.
Chelsea Wolfe BMX biker
Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard declared in August she would be retiring after her appearance at the Tokyo Olympics. She failed to lift a single weightlifting set.
After transitioning in 2012 at the age of 43, she competed for New Zealand in women’s 87kg+ but was eliminated. She is the first transgender woman to ever compete in an individual event. But She did not record any valid snatchlifts in Tokyo.
Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard