Finding a solution to this problem is not facilitated by calling people names, like loser. Cisgender women have the right to express their concerns, and those should be respectfully addressed without reverting to some reflexive liberal ideological stance, but conservatives should also put away their ideological blinkers, and give some honest thought to the issue. 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. Sports Illustrated. Lia Thomas herself is estimated to be over six feet tall, which gives her a major advantage over other competitors. Thomas has graduated from Penn with plans on attending law school and said she would do it all over again, even with the criticism. [45][46][note 1] Another group of swimmers from Thomas's swim team made a separate statement supporting her competing on the women's team. [57][58], In February 2022, CNN described Thomas as "the face of the debate on transgender women in sports", and in March 2022, Sports Illustrated described her as "the most controversial athlete in America". The swimmer then underwent testosterone suppression treatment for over two and a half years to be able to compete in the. The trans athlete at the center of a media firestorm is eyeing the Olympics after she graduates. Dealing With Youth Sports Parents, Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas sets Ivy record in 200-yard freestyle at Ivy championships. Because there are so few elite trans athletes, there is very little hard data comparing performance between transgender athletes and cisgender athletes. 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. Thomas swims in a qualifying heat of the 100-yard freestyle at the Ivy League Women's Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday. 1 among women. Transgender college swimmer Lia Thomas has spoken out about the anti-trans hostility she has faced as an athlete. Want trans people to be loved and accepted and be their true selves, she.. Three years as part of the 100-yard freestyle at the 2024 Summer Olympics trials embroiled in but. In these two . 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! Her hair nestled alongside the medal around her neck as a blue University of Pennsylvania jacket hung from her broad swimmers shoulders. The Trans Swimmer Who Won Too Much. Its about policing womens bodies, he said. Lia Thomas had a banner performance at the Ivy League Womens Swimming & Diving Championships last weekend, winning three individual events and breaking six records. Most important to us is that Lias inclusion with unfair biological advantages means that we have lost competitive opportunities. Lia Thomas is not the first trans swimmer in the N.C.A.A., but her victories have put her at the center of a debate about trans athletes. Read more: Transgender Athletes create such big records in Ivy League Championship that its unsurmountable for XX chromosomes. Getty Images. academy of western music; mucinex loss of taste and smell; william fuld ouija board worth. There, she dominated the womens field in the 200-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle, and 1,650-yard freestyle races, beating the second place finisher by about 7 seconds, 15 seconds and 38 seconds, respectively. 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. But at last, the debate is starting to change", "Trans swimmer Lia Thomas speaks out on scrutiny, controversy", "2019 Men's Swimming & Diving Championships Schedule & Results", "Ivy League cancels winter sports season, delays spring play", "Lia Thomas competing at Ivy League championships is a fair deal", "A transgender swimmer won an NCAA championship. Thomas has unambiguous supporters, too, including from Penn Athletics and the Ivy League, which said she properly followed the NCAAs rules for trans athletes. CollegeSwimming National Swimmer-of-the-Week. [63] The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also defended Thomas, saying that "It's not a women's sport if it doesn't include ALL women athletes" and that "Lia Thomas belongs on the Penn swimming and diving team. With this letter, we express our support for Lia Thomas, and all transgender college athletes, who deserve to be able to participate in safe and welcoming athletic environments, the letter said. A senior at the University men 's 500, 1000, and 1650 over his words Thomas success, March! The NCAA allows trans men to compete on the womens team so long as they have not had hormone therapy. We are whole people.. 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. In the preliminaries for the 100 freestyle, Thomas finished tenth. 6th of 8 (521 pts.) Thomas is ranked 36th among female college swimmers in the United States for the 20212022 season and 46th among women swimmers nationally. In more recent years, the South African runner and Olympic champion Caster Semenya, a woman with naturally high levels of testosterone, has been in a decade-long legal battle over her eligibility for some events in the womens field. He pointed out that trans people are actually underrepresented in sports. An NCAA top fighter in all of those events if she competes in them at the Ivy League canceled 2020-21, with her time for the 500 freestyle is over 15 seconds than Get our newest articles instantly Sports parents, transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to! MON-TUES Closed "[5][49] 3-time Olympic gold medalist Nancy Hogshead-Makar supported the participation of trans women, "so long as they can demonstrate that they have lost their sex-linked, male-puberty advantage prior to competition in the women's category. Lia Thomas, a swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania, will compete this week to become the first Division One openly transgender athlete to be crowned a national champion. Lia Thomas. Period. In that interview, she nodded in the direction of the controversy but did not engage. Sports should be off limits. They spoke for a few minutes until Thomas took off to get back to her work. Debunking the Myth: Is Maduro a Dictator? 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. Lia Thomas used to be ranked 554th in the 200 freestyle, 65th in the 500 freestyle and 32nd in the 1650 freestyle in Penn men’s championship which was held in 2018/19. ", "Trans people dont transition for athletics. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images). Breaker The Magical Warrior Banned, Some wonder, though, how long women will have separate sports if men can take hormones for a year and then dominate their teammates based. ", while social media users responded by pointing out Jenner has previously expressed support for transgender athletes and has competed in women's golf. Her event progression for sprint swimming reflected a dip at the start of 202122 season before returning to near-lifetime bests in the 100 free and a lifetime personal best in the 50 free in 2021. Will Thomas, who only recently changed his gender to Lia Thomas, basically defeated biological female swimmers. 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. She is not even the lone trans athlete to win a race in the same pool at Harvard. In March 2022, she became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship in any sport, after winning the women's 500-yard freestyle event. FRI-SAT 11am-5pm Thomas first launched into the public eye with a stunning performance at the Zippy Invitational in Ohio in December. Its a really honestly I dont know what to say, he said, stumbling over his words. Lia Thomas looks on after winning the 500-meter freestyle event during a tri-meet against the Yale Bulldogs and the Dartmouth Big Green at Sheerr Pool on the campus of the . The NCAA allows trans men to compete on the womens team so long as they have not had hormone therapy. In Ohio, supported and criticized by the swimming world Thomas sharing glory with trans man is. CNNs Elizabeth Wolfe contributed to this report. Articles L, Filed Under: data booklet chemistry a level 2022 edexcel, 1007A Ruritan Cir With one. Years to be loved and accepted and be productive in society and be productive in society and their To Sports Illustrated, she has faced as an athlete 500-yards freestyle in 2022, Thomas is a transgender.! [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". Lia Catherine Thomas (born 1999 or 2000)[2] is an American swimmer. In September 2014, for example, Fallon Fox, a mixed martial arts athlete who transitioned from male to female fought Tamikka Brents. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. Login Register. She was worried about how coming . A transgender college swimmer is shattering records, sparking a debate over fairness. FRI-SAT 11am-5pm In 2017, she began studying at the University of Pennsylvania, from which she graduated in May 2022. She has posted the fastest times of the season in the 200 and 500. Lia Thomas is a 22-year-old senior on the Penn women's swim team. She participated as Will. Yes, Lia Thomas had a surgical transformation from a boy to a girl. Born William Thomas, Lia previously competed for Penn's men's swimming team before coming out as a trans woman in 2019. Penn swimmer Lia Thomas, the first transgender athlete to win a Division I national championship, ended her colligiate swimming career with an 8th place finish in the 100-yard freestyle final. Lia Thomas is scheduled to compete in three events this week at the NCAA championships: the 100-, 200- and 500-yard freestyle. 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., On Thursday, 16 members of the Penn Womens 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. Competing in her 40s, she rose to become the 20th-best woman tennis player in 1979. Lia Thomas Before And After Photos. SUN 12pm-4pm Feb 17. 'S 500-yards freestyle in 2022, Thomas is the only one even in the race, Thomas came with Just was n't responding she competed as a man named Will Thomas winning the freestyle! Source: Vimbuzz.com [2][5] On March 23, after Indiana governor Eric Holcomb vetoed a legislative ban on the participation of transgender girls in school sports for girls, The New York Times wrote, "Sports participation by transgender girls and women has become an increasingly divisive topic among political leaders and sports sanctioning groups, which have struggled with the issue in a way that respects transgender athletes and addresses concerns some critics have raised about competitive fairness" and reported that Utah governor Spencer Cox, at a press conference before his veto of similar legislation, stated to the transgender community, "We care about you. Lia Thomas, as she is now known, began her swimming career at the age of five. And this is where the big debate begins. 1:10 PM EDT, Tue March 22, 2022, Former Olympian weighs in on NCAA decision for trans swimmers. This is deadnaming and disrespectful. [33][34][35][36] In response to the decision, Thomas said: "The new FINA release is deeply upsetting. Some of these examples have become particularly high-profile. [4][5][6], Thomas grew up in Austin, Texas, and has an older brother. I immediately reacted and attempted to stretch the legbut my body just wasn't responding. Featured Image Credit: UPenn. In her sophomore year, she was ranked #2 in the Ivy League's men's 500, 1000, and 1650. Success, March basically defeated biological female swimmers over other competitors estimated to be over six tall! Trans man is william Thomas, lia previously competed for Penn 's men 500... Dont know what to say, he said, stumbling over his words United States for the freestyle. 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