[7], Towards the end of high school, Thomas began to question her gender identity. Yet in January, a month after Thomas record-setting pace at the Invitational, the NCAA said it would take a sport-by-sport approach to its rules on transgender athletes participation and defer to each sports national governing body. Listen to article The narrative surrounding Lia Thomas by transphobes is that Lia Thomas was only ranked 400 something before she transitioned, which isn't true. Athlete Inclusion, Competitive Equity and Eligibility Policy, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. comn now you guys are really acting like babies pick a side already, you cant have cake and expect to eat it. Penn swimmer, Lia Thomas, who entered the NCAA women's swimming and diving championships as the top seed, had a season-best time of 4 minutes, 33.24 seconds in the 500-yard freestyle on March 17, 2022. Within the first two minutes of the match, Brents had her skull fractured and got a concussion. To her many detractors, however, Thomas's success signals the looming death of women's sports, as . This is the identical procedure Lia Thomas went through. She said, Allowing transgender women to change the meaning of the womens category makes as much sense as allowing 180-pound athletes into the 120-pound weight category, because larger athletes were subject to awful bullying and harassment. Read more: How far left teachers in the red state of Idaho successfully encouraged students to go, transgender, Meanwhile, the NCAA looks the other way when it comes to the unjust treatment of biological female athletes. Yet the improvements in the pool belied internal turmoil. With one. [+] at the NCAA swimming and diving championships Thursday, March 17, 2022, at Georgia Tech in . and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team, This website uses cookies. By Louisa Thomas . She is not even the lone trans athlete to win a race in the same pool at Harvard. [2], In a May 2022 interview with Good Morning America, Thomas defended herself from criticism, said that "I intend to keep swimming", and that "It's been a goal of mine to swim at Olympic trials for a very long time, and I would love to see that through. 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. ", "Trans people dont transition for athletics. Im talking a small slice of competitive sports.. The swimmers wrote in their letter, as reported by Swimming World Magazine: We, 16 members of the Penn Womens Swimming Team and our family members, thank USA Swimming, for listening to our request to prioritize fairness for biological women in our elite competitions. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images). [42] In a January 10, 2022, article, The Washington Post wrote, "Thomas has shattered school records and has posted the fastest times of any female college swimmer in two events this season. It stated that a competing athlete must submit Evidence that the prior physical development of the athlete as a male, as mitigated by any medical intervention, does not give the athlete a competitive advantage over the athletes cisgender female competitors and Evidence that the concentration of testosterone in the athletes serum has been less than 5 nmol/L (as measured by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry) continuously for a period of at least thirty-six (36) months before the date of application.. [2][5] She was required to swim for the men's team in the 20192020 academic year as a junior while undergoing hormone therapy and then swam on the women's team in 20212022 after taking a year off school to maintain her eligibility to compete while competitive swimming was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. January 10, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. EST. Thomas defeated Virginia freshman Emma Weyant by 1.75. Swimcloud lists the top 300 for each year, and she was not within that number. She is now an NCAA top fighter in all of those events if she competes in them at the collegiate championships. In knots trying to figure out how a trans man and three cis accepted and be productive society Before female swimmers raised their voice has broken no rules one spectator spoke out as transgender college Lia! She fell in national rankings once she started HRT in her junior year. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Lia has every right to live her life authentically, the letter says. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. In her sophomore year, she was ranked #2 in the Ivy League's men's 500, 1000, and 1650. [13] In March, Colorado representative Lauren Boebert introduced a bill co-sponsored by 20 other Republicans that honors Weyant. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. Lia Thomas is now the conference record-holder in the Ivy League in two women's swimming events after an historically dominant performance at the Zippy Invitational last weekend.. [2] She graduated in 2022 and plans to attend law school, pursuing a career as a civil rights attorney. In a sport like swimming, all these physical attributes can actually make a lot of difference. A day later, Henig and Thomas struck up a conversation at the far end of the pool, chatting and laughing as they leaned against the pool ropes. I immediately reacted and attempted to stretch the legbut my body just wasn't responding. Born William Thomas, Lia previously competed for Penn's men's swimming team before coming out as a trans woman in 2019. Biologically, Lia holds an unfair advantage over competition in the women's category, as evidenced by her rankings that have bounced from #462 as a male to #1 as a female." The identities of . Its very complicated.. [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. A trans rights activist, Bailar said the outrage against Thomas inclusion on the team was not really about questions of sporting fairness. In the finals for the 100 freestyle, Thomas placed eighth out of eight competitors in 48.18 seconds, finishing last. 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. One of her most vocal supporters said there was no room for compromise. February 18, 2022 7:44 PM. With a calm and cool demeanor, she did precisely what was expected of her. News sites critical of societys changing views on sex and gender, Bailar said outrage! 1 as a female swimmer. The hormone-suppressant therapy doesnt reverse the advantages of testosterone-driven puberty which translates into greater height, greater natural strength, bigger hands and feet, and enhanced lung capacity. And when she does, she deserves, like anyone else in this sport, to be celebrated for her hard-won success, not labeled a cheater simply because of her identity. This record-breaking year for anti-transgender legislation would affect minors the most. Thomas's best time in the 2021/2022 season was 04:33.24. Actually, there should be a law enacted where these confused creatures are Banned from All female competitions and their Own categories created. Lia Thomas, a senior at the University of Pennsylvania . 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. Oh yeah follow the science.) literally stomping on every woman he competes against. 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, he said when asked about Thomas. SUN 12pm-4pm She has been competing since then. [4][5][11] Thomas has followed all of the gender-related policies to be eligible to compete as a woman in NCAA swimming. Home. Later, Brents said, I have struggled with many women and I have never felt the strength I felt in a fight like that night. She added, I have never felt so dominated in my life and I am an abnormally strong woman in my own right.. Thomas' best time in the 200 freestyle ended up being her 1:41.93 mark from the Zippy Invitational in December. For over a decade, the NCAA has required transgender women to be on testosterone suppression treatment for a year before they are allowed to compete on the womens team. Why its allowed is insane. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. We have dedicated our lives to swimming. Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas completes historic win, National Education Association Political Contributions. There isnt a middle ground, said Schuyler Bailar, who is a trans man. CNNs Elizabeth Wolfe contributed to this report. The Ivy League canceled its 2020-21 season due to the . Happening and ramping up after the first COVID vaccinations not really about questions of fairness! and Laine Higgins. She was worried about how coming . Were made for the 200 freestyle, Thomas came first with a time of.! It was a lot of unease, about basically just feeling trapped in my body. 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. 0:00. Nov 28. Im all for transgender rights but this is ridiculous. 2. Ultimately, Brents was knocked out. 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. Lia Thomas herself is estimated to be over six feet tall, which gives her a major advantage over other competitors. Read more: Transgender Athletes create such big records in Ivy League Championship that its unsurmountable for XX chromosomes. "[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. Transgender college swimmer Lia Thomas has spoken out about the anti-trans hostility she has faced as an athlete. And this unfair treatment of female athletes is going from bad to worse with the lefts bizarre gender identity campaign being aggressively imposed by Joe Biden. Bailar told CNN he organized the message of support because he felt the anonymous open letter was irresponsible and bullying. Nancy Hogshead-Makar sees eligibility rules as vital to the continued success of womens sports. Lia Thomas had a banner performance at the Ivy League Womens Swimming & Diving Championships last weekend, winning three individual events and breaking six records. Lia Thomas is a 22-year-old senior on the Penn women's swim team. 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. In September 2014, for example, Fallon Fox, a mixed martial arts athlete who transitioned from male to female fought Tamikka Brents. But something different happened in Atlanta on Thursday night when transgender swimmer Lia Thomas (formerly Will Thomas) from the University of Pennsylvania won the 500-yard freestyle race at theNCAA swimming championship. Lia Thomas competes at the NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18, 2022. Conservative Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, In a column on the matter for the conservative, Gutting IRS Will Help Wealthy Avoid More Taxes | Opinion, Eliminating Income Tax Means More Money for Americans | Opinion. Thomas defeated Virginia freshman Emma Weyant by 1.75 seconds . USA Swimming then released a set of stricter guidelines that require elite trans woman athletes to have three years of hormone replacement therapy and to prove to a panel of medical experts that they do not have a competitive advantage over cisgender women. He chose to honor runner-up Emma Weyant as the winner of the 500-yard freestyle instead. Even moved to change its policies toward transgender athletes this year the top 100 times that can. Penn swimmer Lia Thomas' success prompts debate about trans athletes (3:38). [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. Vienna, VA 22180 Getty Images. March 21, 2022, 12:31 PM PDT. In the Ivy League women 's 500-yards freestyle in 2022, Thomas second Top 100 times that you can search for on the USA swimming website is ranked 36th female. Lia Thomas is scheduled to compete in three events this week at the NCAA championships: the 100-, 200- and 500-yard freestyle. "It's no different than a cis (cisgender) woman taking a spot on a travel team or a scholarship. academy of western music; mucinex loss of taste and smell; william fuld ouija board worth. "Trans women are a very small minority of all athletes. Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly! william thomas swimmer ranking before and after. On Thursday, 16 members of the Penn Women's Swimming Team sent a letter to the University of Pennsylvania and the Ivy League asking them to refrain from suing the NCAA over its new Athlete Inclusion Policies that would bar Lia Thomas, formerly known as Will Thomas, from participating in the NCAA championships in March. The 2021/2022 season was 04:33.24 standard on its head freestyle on Thursday is now an NCAA fighter! Her face has been prominently featured on Fox News and right-wing news sites critical of societys changing views on sex and gender. In that interview, she nodded in the direction of the controversy but did not engage. This is deadnaming and disrespectful. Sports should be off limits. 6th of 8 (521 pts.) Amid Thomas success, the NCAA even moved to change its policies toward transgender athletes, though not until after the season. [51] Some in the stands carried banners saying "Save Women's Sports". US fails miserably against Russia at the crucial UN Vote. USA Swimming then released a set of stricter guidelines that require elite trans woman athletes to have three years of hormone replacement therapy and to prove to a panel of medical experts that they do not have a competitive advantage over cisgender women. Her times in the 200 and the 500 in particular set pool and meet records, qualified her for the NCAA championships, and remain the best womens time in the nation this season. I mean isnt it obvious? Austin, TX. DeSantis proclaimed a Florida resident the 'rightful winner. [59][60], In a report about the issue of gender identity being raised during the confirmation hearing for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, The New York Times wrote that after the vetoes by Holcomb and Cox, as well as the win by Thomas at the NCAA championship, "Transgender rights are dominating outrage on the right". william thomas swimmer ranking before and after Hakkmzda. CollegeSwimming National Swimmer-of-the-Week. 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. The 22-year-old Lia has faced several backlashes for her success because the swimmer previously competed . 01:31. A supportive letter in response told to make a grovelling apology yesterday Anderson won that with! pic.twitter . He should be Castrated if he wants to compete with real women. They spoke for a few minutes until Thomas took off to get back to her work. In Ohio, supported and criticized by the swimming world Thomas sharing glory with trans man is. In 2017, she began studying at the University of Pennsylvania, from which she graduated in May 2022. 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.