Lia Thomas (22) was a transgender swimmer at University of Pennsylvania. She returned to the pool this Saturday and continued her winning streak.
Competing during an NCAA college swimming meet with Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, Thomas won the Women’s 100m and Women’s 200m Freestyle races, although the margin’s were far narrower than in previous races she won in 2021.
Thomas won the 100m race with a time of 50.55 seconds, her nearest competitor being 51.51.
She won the 200m race in 1:47.08, with second placing in 1:48.44.
Lia Thomas, a Penn transgender swimmer competes in 200m freestyle at an NCAA college swim meet.
Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, right, towers over her teammates as she dries off after after warming up with the team before the NCAA college swimming meet with Harvard
Penn’s transgender swimmer Lia Thomas competes with Harvard’s Erin Cavanagh (left) and Harvard’s Feliici Passadyn during the 200-meter women’s freestyle race at an NCAA college swim meet
Thomas’ controversial wins prompted the NCAA to review its guidelines regarding male-to-female athletes. But the NCAA ultimately decided not to address the controversy around transgender college athletes.
The NCAA Board of Governors approved the guidelines. Transgender participation in each sport will now be determined according to the policies of each national governing body.
The NCAA regulations on transgender athletes came back into focus when Thomas broke records in late 2013.
She competed on the UPenn male team her first three seasons, but after she transitioned to the women’s side, she will be competing for the team.
Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas speaks to her coach after winning the 200 meter freestyle during an NCAA college swimming meet with Harvard on Saturday
Lia Thomas (22) won two races at the Transgender University of Pennsylvania swimming pool on Saturday, though her margins of victory were smaller than in late.
Her previous victories in pool have caused controversy as she broke several records for women. However, her timings Saturday were very similar to those of her rivals. According to the NCAA’s newly adopted standards, Penn State will cooperate with them.
Thomas’s performance at last month’s Zippy Invitational Event was remarkable. Thomas finished the 1,650-yard freestyle with 38 seconds more than teammate Anna Sofia Kalandaze.
Thomas was victorious in 15:59.71. Anna Kalandaze (UPenn) came second with a time 16:37.44.
Thomas’s victory was an unprecedented achievement for both the Zippy Meet as well as the pool in which the event took places. She also broke two US women’s records in swimming during the earlier races of this event.
Thomas broke the first US record by winning the 500m freestyle in 4:34.06. Kalandaze was beaten by her swimmer of 38 seconds, and she won 14 seconds quicker than Thomas.
She won the 200-meter freestyle the next Saturday in 1:41.93, seven seconds faster than her closest rival. This made her the fastest US female to win that event.
USA Swimming will soon release its new policy on whether or not elite trans swimmers like Lia Thomas of the Ivy League can compete against biological females.
Lia Thomas (circled) is pictured in a post from UPenn Swimming and Diving. It captioned: Ladies at the Beach’
Pictured: Thomas and the Sailfish Splash Waterpark team in Florida, earlier this month
The NCAA has not taken any decisive actions, so USA Swimming on Thursday announced a new policy on whether trans-elite athletes such as Ivy League swimmer Thomas are allowed to compete with biological women.
Following the announcement by the NCAA Board of Governors that their guidelines will be updated to reflect the wishes of the governing bodies of all sports, the group released a statement.
USA Swimming strongly believes in inclusion and that all swimmers have the chance to enjoy the sport in a way that is compatible with their gender identity, according to the statement.
“We believe strongly in competitive equity and are trying our best to educate ourselves and learn more about the right balance within this space.
Thomas is seen as Thomas celebrates Senior Day with her fellow swimmers, Saturday January 8th 2022 in Philadelphia.
If they have been under suppression for one year, transgender women can still compete against other female athletes. However, critics claim that that’s insufficient. This is evident by Thomas’s stunning wins. They also point out that trans athletes have significant advantages over their female counterparts due to the fact that they are taller and more muscular.
Thomas has been blowing women’s swimming records out of the water and there is even a chance she might win national championships and even compete for all-time NCAA records set by Olympic gold medalists Missy Franklin and Katie Ledecky.
Thomas’ swimmers are not allowed to voice their opinions publicly, but some of them have done so anonymously. They claim that Thomas is arrogant while her team is upset and that Thomas is obsessed about winning.
“She likens herself to Jackie Robinson.” Thomas, one Thomas’ teammate said she thought she looked like Jackie Robinson in trans sports. Robinson was the first major league baseball player of color to be black.
Thomas was pictured being beaten twice last week in the women’s swimming meet by another transgender competitor, who is changing from female to male.
Thomas was identified as transgender by the NCAA in 2019. He is eligible, under NCAA rules, to change from the men’s to women’s teams after a year on testosterone suppressants
“She makes fun of it and laughs about the whole thing. Instead of showing empathy or caring about the situation, or even caring enough to show that she does care, Lia is not at all sympathetic. Lia has never spoken to our team. It was not OK for her to ask if we were okay. She didn’t try to tell us how she felt. We as a whole have never heard her say anything. She didn’t address anything.
Thomas did not set any school or national records. However, Thomas said in a recent interview that it wasn’t healthy for him to even read the record and then engage with it.
Thomas’s transition feats have not been well received by her teammates. Two anonymous swimmers complained about the lack of fairness in the Zippy International a few days later.
They are forced to work behind the scenes, knowing they will never win. One of them told OutKick that he believes it is really getting to everyone.
Caitlyn Jennifer has stated the ‘woke universe’ isn’t working for women’s sports, and she is asking the NCAA for a change in their transgender policy.
Caitlyn Jenner urged the NCAA earlier this week to stop Thomas, a transgender athlete from competing against his biological peers.
Jenner, 72 years old, stated Wednesday she was certain that rules must be modified.
Jenner said, “All of this woke, unworkable world we live in now isn’t working.” Jenner won the gold medal with Bruce at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and then transitioned to female status in 2015.
“I feel sorry about the other athletes out there, particularly at Penn and any of her competitors,” she said.
Jenner wrote on Twitter that biological boys shouldn’t compete with biological boys.
Fox News later interviewed her and she stated that women need protection in sports and that NCAA must make the right decisions tomorrow. She said, “I think it’s possible to stop this now. Rethink it.”
Michael Phelps is an Olympic swimmer and has now reacted to controversy surrounding Lia Thomas being a transgender athlete on the women’s team.
Last week, champion swimmer Michael Phelps described the controversy as being ‘very complicated’ – before adding that sports need a ‘level playing field’ to be fair.
Phelps, the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals, compared the issue of athletes like Thomas to doping in order to secure a competitive advantage in the pool.
Speak to CNN, Phelps was insistent that the NCAA rules that permit Thomas to swim against female swimmers need to change. However, he was unable share specific suggestions.
“I believe this brings back the organizing committees because there must be an equal playing field. It’s what we all want. Sports are a sport. This is where I am at the moment. It’s not clear what will happen.
Phelps, who also holds the all-time record for Olympic gold medals at 13, said he simply wants to see a fairness across the sport.
He stated, “I think that everyone should be comfortable in their skin. But I believe sports should all have an equal playing field.”
“I’m not sure what the future looks like.” It’s hard. It is complicated. This is what I love about my sport.
Phelps holds the all-time record for Olympic gold medals at 13. Phelps stated that he just wants fairness in the sport.
There have been controversy surrounding transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
Transgender women are causing a lot of controversy about participation in women’s sports.
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 set the 2019 testosterone threshold of 5 nmol/L for women who wish to participate in the US Olympic Team’s female races. This level is the most a woman born in a male-dominated country.
Transgender runner CeCe Telfer
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