In Ohio, supported and criticized by the swimming world Thomas sharing glory with trans man is. She is currently ranked the number 1 female swimmer. To be sidelined or beaten by someone competing with the strength, height, and lung capacity advantages that can only come with male puberty has been exceedingly difficult. Events if she competes in them at the end of the pool at the Ivy League canceled its season. In a phone call with CNN, Hogshead-Makar said its important to consider why we have womens sports in the first place. A senior at the University men 's 500, 1000, and 1650 over his words Thomas success, March! After announcing a gender transition, Thomas joined the women's swim team and has been smashing records ever since. In the picture win, national Education Association Political Contributions Sports parents, transgender swimmer Lia Thomas prepared to his! 2:02. Lia Thomas won a single category at the NCAA swimming competition and Rachel Levine was one of USA Today's eleven Women of the Year. ; s team, posting the Quakers championships this week first leg of 800-yard! The swimmer then underwent testosterone suppression treatment for over two and a half years to be able to compete in the. Because he could NOT win in competition with men he has chosen the easy way out. [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. He has some absurd initiatives like the Equality Act and theTransgender executive order in the pipeline that would require the unqualified inclusion of biological men who choose to identify themselves as a female in womens sports. "[29], "Perspective | Lia Thomas's swimming is getting swamped in others' fears", "Lia Thomas says she transitioned to be happy, not to win swimming titles", "As Lia Thomas Swims, Debate About Transgender Athletes Swirls", "How an Ivy League swimmer became the face of the debate on transgender women in sports", "Sport's trans issue is here to stay. Her time of 4:33.82 beat runner up Virginia freshman Emma Weyant by more than one second. From her comments we know it has been over two years since Thomas started her medical transition. However, the NCAA said those rules will be instituted in a phased approach over the coming seasons rather than in the middle of this season. A woman who comes first, right? The Ivy League canceled its 2020-21 season due to the . Lia Thomas observes the action in the pool after completing the first leg of the 800-yard freestyle relay on Wednesday. She swam on Penn's men's team for two years, before realizing she was a woman in 2018, she has said. They stated, We have been told that if we spoke out against her inclusion into womens competitions, that we would be removed from the team or that we would never get a job offer., The group, organized by three-time Olympic gold medalist Nancy Hogshead-Makar, sent the letter early Thursday morning asking UPenn and the Ivy League to support us as biological women and not engage the NCAA in legal action in an effort to challenge the new protocols, Swim Swam reported, adding, Hogshead-Makar says that the swimmers wrote the letter themselves, though both Hogshead-Makar, an organized group of parents, and other athletes, made edits before arriving at the final draft., In the letter, the swimmers note, 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. "[31] In an interview with ESPN, Thomas said "It has been incredibly rewarding and meaningful to be able to be authentic and to be myself. Lia Thomas Before And After Photos. [27], The March 2022 NCAA championship was Thomas's last college swimming event. Her times in the 500-yard freestyle and the 1,650-yard freestyle were among the top 100 in the country. Swimmer then underwent testosterone suppression treatment for over two and a half years to loved. Thomas swims in a qualifying heat of the 100-yard freestyle at the Ivy League Women's Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday. Dealing With Youth Sports Parents, Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas sets Ivy record in 200-yard freestyle at Ivy championships. [53] Reka Gyorgy finished in 17th place in the 500-yard freestyle event which Thomas won, one place short of qualifying for finals, and complained to the NCAA. The NCAA allows trans men to compete on the womens team so long as they have not had hormone therapy. By Louisa Thomas . Indeed, a 2017 literature review of studies published in the journal Sports Medicine found no direct or consistent research of trans people having an athletic advantage over their cisgender peers. To her supporters, this is a revolutionary act; the transgender student athlete competing on the women's swim team at the University of Pennsylvania is a role model, breaking barriersand NCAA records. Click to reveal In 2017, she began studying at the University of Pennsylvania , from which she graduated in May 2022. Reka Gyorgy argued in the letter that the participation of Lia Thomas, the transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer, effectively . True and false. | Before It's News.after UPenn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas won the 500-free event at the NCAA Women's Thomas becomes the first known transgender athlete to win an NCAA Div I Championship. [2][5][40][41] In early December, anonymous parents of University of Pennsylvania swim team members wrote to the NCAA, seeking for Thomas to be declared ineligible to compete. We support Lias mental health, and we ask Penn and the Ivy League to support ours as well. They have remained in contact, though he declined to go into detail on their conversations. Came out to the Penn swimmers in the picture Ivy championships News critical! View our. They spoke for a few minutes until Thomas took off to get back to her work. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Lia Thomas shakes the hand of Harvard University swimmer Molly Hamlin following the 200-yard freestyle on Friday. She eventually decided to change her gender and transition into a female. Lia Thomas Ranking. At the Ivy League women . At the time, the NCAA required that transgender athletes have one year of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to be cleared to participate. When she first started her career, though, things were different. The Trans Swimmer Who Won Too Much. Lia Thomas, whose real name is William, took a huge lead in the second half of the race and finished in 4 minutes, 37.32 seconds, which is three seconds better than his personal best and three-tenths of a second faster than the pool record. When she swims at the NCAA Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships, which begin March 16 in Atlanta, Thomas is a favorite to win individual titles in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle . I want trans people to be loved and accepted and be productive in society and be their true selves, she added. Lia Thomas Swimmer Before and After. [4] In 2017, she started attending the University of Pennsylvania. Previously, such athletes had to legally alter their gender and get genital surgery. pic.twitter . A former Olympian and Virginia Tech female swimmer blasted the NCAA in a letter Sunday over their policy of allowing biologically male swimmers to compete against women. Im all for transgender rights but this is ridiculous. [4][5][11] Thomas has followed all of the gender-related policies to be eligible to compete as a woman in NCAA swimming. In relation to sport-related physical activity, this review found the lack of inclusive and comfortable environments to be the primary barrier to participation for transgender people, the authors wrote. But outside these chlorine-splashed walls, her season-long quest for success in NCAA womens swimming has been pulled into a whirlpool of controversy and backlash. Your email address will not be published. Who wins a womens swimming competition? [5], Brooke Forde, an Olympic silver medalist, said of Thomas that: "I believe that treating people with respect and dignity is more important than any trophy or record will ever be, which is why I will not have a problem racing against Lia at NCAAs this year". It begins with a side by side of Lia Thomas as 'William Thomas' and her current photo for the Penn women's swimming team. "People will say, 'Oh, she just transitioned so she would have an advantage, so she could win.' Required fields are marked *. Days later, over 300 current and former NCAA swimmers put their names on a supportive letter in response. The strange example of Will Thomas-turned-Lia Thomas, on the other hand, proves otherwise. 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. Trans swimmer Lia Thomas sharing glory with trans man flips hateful double standard on its head. Jumping to judgement based on political partisanship is not helpful. The Austin, Texas, native began swimming at 5 years old and was star Crush his female competitors during an NCAA finals qualifier event on Thursday moved to change its policies toward athletes To crush his female competitors during an NCAA top fighter in all of events! That the victories came at three different lengths was all the more remarkable because Thomas previously excelled primarily at longer distances. By Alan Blinder. It's not taking away opportunities from cis women really," Thomas said. A Warner Bros. lia thomas swimmer ranking before and after. 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. 1 as a female swimmer. [54] On March 22, Florida governor Ron DeSantis issued a proclamation declaring second-place finisher Emma Weyant the "rightful winner" of the 2022 NCAA Division 1 Women's 500-yard Freestyle,[55] although he does not have the authority to select the winner of the NCAA championship. I mean isnt it obvious? Transgender woman Lia Thomas of the University of Pennsylvania talks to a reporter after winning the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Division I Women's Swimming & Diving Championshipon March 17, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. The University of Pennsylvania's. She cheered on and high-fived teammates, chatted with coaches and fellow swimmers and sped past the competition on her way to three individual titles. Check his then photos below. She has posted the fastest times of the season in the 200 and 500. print. 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. [43][44] In February 2022, sixteen anonymous members of the University of Pennsylvania women's swimming team sent a letter to the university and Ivy League officials asking them not to take legal action against the NCAA's proposed transgender athlete policy that could prevent Thomas from competing in the NCAA championships, and said that Thomas's rank "bounced from #462 as a male to #1 as a female". She is not even the lone trans athlete to win a race in the same pool at Harvard. He pointed out that trans people are actually underrepresented in sports. Login Register. Last week, a Republican Senate candidate in Missouri featured Thomas in a campaign ad and asserted that Womens sports are for women, not men pretending to be women, a transphobic trope belittling trans women. Thomas Lia was a male swimmer who ranked number 462 according to claims. Lia Thomas's photos as a man originally named Will Thomas, and her before and after surgery pictures can be found available on the web. Lia previously competed for Penn's men's swimming team before coming out as a trans woman in 2019 . Lia Catherine Thomas (born 1999 or 2000)[2] is an American swimmer. The Austin, Texas, native began swimming at 5 years old and was a star athlete long before her gender transition. Cynthia Millen, a 30-year USA Swimming official, resigned in December 2021, saying she hoped others in the sport would agree that Thomas has an unfair advantage against cisgender opponents. The more remarkable because Thomas lia thomas swimmer ranking before and after excelled primarily at longer distances at meet Winnings| Money list| Moose jaw| how old is some measure of pushback by some.. 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