And transitioning to get an advantage is not something that ever factors into our decisions. Many board members declined to be interviewed, referred inquiries to the N.C.A.A. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (CO/IL/IN/LA/MD/MI/NJ/OH/PA/TN/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (KS/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), visit OPGR.org (OR), or 1-888-532-3500(VA). It was a familiar spot for Virginia swimmers, who won seven individual titles and four relays to propel the Cavaliers to their second straight national championship in dominant fashion. "The fact that she's able to show up here, despite protesters outside, people shouting and booing her, I think it's a testament to her resiliency. Yet her breaking of school and Ivy League records has been by smaller margins of a couple seconds. [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". ', "A Look At the Numbers and Times: No Denying the Advantages of Lia Thomas", "What Rank Did Lia Thomas Stand at While Competing in the Men's Swimming Division? Social media users are claiming that transgender women are dominating women-only competitions, highlighting swimmer Lia Thomas and Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine as examples. [14][15] Thomas's event progression peaked in 2019 for distance swimming, with a drop in times during the 202122 season. For the purposes of this swimming season, that put the focus on USA Swimming's policy, which the organization updated in February. In 2022, Lia Thomas, a biological male with a fully intact penis who identifies as female won what is probably the most prestigious race at the U.S. Collegiate Women's Swimming Championships . He joined The Times in 2013. Transgender athletes are speaking up as over half the states in the U.S. consider bills to ban trans students from competing in women's sports. Thomas told ABC News in May that she was depressed and having thoughts of suicide due to gender dysphoria. THOMAS: Trans people don't transition for athletics. 'Her Rankings Have Bounced From #462 As A Male - The Daily Wire Rulings on cases involving affirmative action, student debt forgiveness, religion, free speech, LGBTQ+ rights and elections are still to come. 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. Thomas's best time in the 2021/2022 season was 04:33.24. LET'S TALK ABOUT LIA THOMAS | Schuyler Bailar | PINKMANTARAY Honorees 41-50: Outsports Power 100, the most influential LGBTQ people in sports. Lia Thomas | Swimcloud ", "Any hate is unnecessary," Virginia junior Lexi Cuomo said after the Cavaliers won the 200 freestyle relay. Penn swimmers say Lia Thomas should not be allowed to compete - The She has won a national championship in the 500-free. It feels exactly like any other NCAA meet.". She won the womens 500-yard freestyle in Atlanta. And it's also a symbol that we can both be who we are and do what we love. Thomas and Henig came into the 100 free final as the fourth and eighth seeds, respectively. to grapple more quickly with a subject that scientists are still examining and its consequences for sports competitions. For example, Rachel Levine was not named sole woman of the year by USA Today, she was one of eleven USA Today Women of the Year ( here ). The fastest time that year was from Katie Ladecky from Stanford University, who finished at 04:24.06, nearly 10 seconds faster than Thomas in the most recent season. And the association has waffled over its approach to holding major events, which can drive millions of dollars in spending, in states with laws seen as targeting transgender people. 0:00. I didnt have a whole lot of expectation for this meet, Thomas said. 4. Two-time winners this season Wyndham Clark and . I am here to swim.. She led for length after length, earning just enough of an edge to make people wonder whether Thomas would falter, until Thomas regained control of the race. Henig is a . Thomas has said little in public this season, her final collegiate campaign to cap a distinguished career that included runner-up finishes in several mens freestyle races at the Ivy League championships in 2019, even as her story rocketed from the insular swimming community onto talk shows and social media. Conservative Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also said that Thomas wasn't the rightful winner. "For the gay and lesbian community, there is more acceptance than even five years ago," says a CBS Sports exec, on this list with a trans athlete and activist, a sports columnist and pro wrestler. Swimming, the sports national governing body, soon tightened its rules in ways that Thomas supporters believed amounted to a poorly disguised effort to exclude her from the national championships. says a U.S. womens soccer star on this list, along with an NBA executive, an Olympian and two WNBA head coaches. Thomas, who declined to attend the NCAA-required postrace news conference, told Beisel she has been trying to tune out the distractions. Our softball experts break down why Oklahoma is this good and who could end the OU dynasty in 2024, The Oklahoma dynasty: 53 straight wins, three titles in a row and zero sign of slowing down, OU softball joins list of NCAA title three-peaters, Cydney Sanders, Grace Lyons hit back-to-back HRs for Sooners, Jayda Coleman reaches over wall to make incredible HR robbery. Complying with the NCAA protocol, she joined the women's team in 2020 after taking a year off. If you see information about Lia Thomas that is being shared publicly and looks questionable or suspicious, feel free to leave it in a comment below and Outsports will find the answer. [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. She isnt listed under the records in the NCAA results summary, and ranks 6th among the top point scorers in swimming ( here ). [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."[29]. ", "Penn's Transgender Swimmer Lost to Yale's Transgender Swimmer in a Hotly Contested Women's Ivy League 100 meter Race", "Amid trans athlete debate, Penn's Lia Thomas loses to trans Yale swimmer", "Thomas first transgender athlete to win D-I title", "Thomas wins US collegiate swimming title", "Swimmer Lia Thomas becomes NCAA's first transgender D-I champion in any sport", "Why the data shows trans swimming champion Lia Thomas didn't have an unfair advantage", "Iszac Henig, Lia Thomas are All-Americans in women's 100-free", "Transgender swimmer finishes last in final college race", "What Lia Thomas Could Mean for Women's Elite Sports", "Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas speaks out about backlash, future plans to compete", "Penn swimmer Lia Thomas opens up about being the 1st transgender D-I athlete to win an NCAA title", "Transgender women swimmers barred from female competitions by Fina", "FINA vote restricts transgender athletes in women's competitions", "Transgender swimmers barred from women's events", "Lia Thomas barred from competing in women's events after swimming body's transgender vote", "FINA to restrict trans women from elite races", "Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas nominated for NCAA 2022 Woman of the Year Award", "Lia Thomas nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year, sparking praise and backlash", "Penn Parents Express Further Concerns Over Lia Thomas Competing On Women's Team", "Anti-trans panic comes to an Ivy League pool", "Official Cynthia Millen Quits, Protesting Lia Thomas' Swimming Participation", "A transgender college swimmer is shattering records, sparking a debate over fairness", "Lia Thomas succeeding from 'hard work' not because she's transgender, Penn Law groups say", "16 UPenn swimmers ask school not to challenge transgender policy that could block teammate Lia Thomas from competing", "Sixteen Penn swimmers say transgender teammate Lia Thomas should not be allowed to compete", "A trio of college swimmers show support for Lia Thomas", "Why I'm proud to support trans athletes like Lia Thomas", "Michael Phelps Weighs in on Lia Thomas Controversy", "Nancy Hogshead-Makar Explains Problems With Lia Thomas Situation", "Trans swimmer Lia Thomas winning NCAA title should spark legitimate debate, not hate", "Lia Thomas becomes 1st known transgender woman to win NCAA swimming title", "Protestors Against Lia Thomas Stand Outside & Attend Women's NCAA Championship", "17th-Place Finisher in 500 Reka Gyorgy Pens Letter to NCAA on Transgender Rules", "DeSantis rejects transgender swimmer Lia Thomas's NCAA victory", "Boebert, GOP lawmakers introduce resolution honoring second-place swimmer in Lia Thomas race", "Twitter reacts: Caitlyn Jenner plays women's golf but says trans girls should be banned from sports", "Caitlyn Jenner says trans swimmer Lia Thomas is not the 'rightful winner' of NCAA title", "Bucking Republican Trend, Indiana Governor Vetoes Transgender Sports Bill", "Louisiana Becomes Latest State To Ban Transgender Athletes In Schools", "A demand to define 'woman' injects gender politics into Jackson's confirmation hearings", "Trans athletes become campaign flashpoint for GOP", "Trans swimming champion Lia Thomas finishes college career", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lia_Thomas&oldid=1161463903, Wikipedia extended-confirmed-protected pages, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using embedded infobox templates with the title parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0, 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Championship, This page was last edited on 22 June 2023, at 21:53. Although she has said that she didn't want trans athletes excluded, Davis argued that it was unfair for cisgender women that Thomas was competing against them. Speaking to ESPN next to the pool, Thomas said she had tried to focus on swimming and doing what she needed to do to prepare for the championships. Manuel in BoxRec U.S. rankings at 103rd After four . In typical swimming celebration, the whole Virginia team jumped into the diving pool as "We Are The Champions" by Queen played on the loudspeaker. Stanford's Regan Smith, who won two silvers and a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, won the 200 backstroke to claim an individual NCAA title to partner with her 800-yard free relay title. requires of its champions. DeSantis proclaimed a Florida resident the 'rightful winner. 2 Scheffler from No. Lia Thomas - Wikipedia Lia Thomas Lia Catherine Thomas (born 1999 or 2000) [2] is an American swimmer. Schools across the country nominated their athletes of the year last week. Like Gretchen Walsh, Douglass was part of all four winning Virginia relays. But for all of the associations efforts to depict a united front on the subject John J. DeGioia, Georgetown Universitys president and the chairman of the N.C.A.A.s Board of Governors, said in January that officials were steadfast in our support of transgender student-athletes and the fostering of fairness across college sports college sports leaders have been privately fractured over how, exactly, to proceed. "It was electric," Henig said to ESPN. Lia Thomas's swimmer profile, including times, results, and more. Tuesday, USA Swimming released new Athlete Inclusion Procedures shortly after the NCAA acknowledged that each sport should determine how fairness and inclusion were to be accomplished. Trans swimmer Lia Thomas wins women's 500-yard NCAA title - New York Post [46] The anonymous letter also led to another letter in response, organized by Schuyler Bailar and signed by more than 300 current and former collegiate swimmers, stating their "support for Lia Thomas, and all transgender college athletes, who deserve to be able to participate in safe and welcoming athletic environments". "We're not going to stand by and let women be displaced," said Annabelle Rutledge, the national director for Young Women for America. [62] The National Women's Law Center, a non-profit organization, defended Thomas, saying that she "deserves all the celebration for her success this season, but instead is being met with nationwide misogyny and transphobia". Penn senior Lia Thomas, a trans woman, won the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle races at the Ivy League Women's Swimming and Diving Championships this week. True and false. Swimming records are broken all the time, and its entirely possible that a record has been broken that many times in two decades. False. [20][21], In March 2022, Thomas 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 with a time of 4:33.24; Olympic silver medalist Emma Weyant was second with a time 1.75 seconds behind Thomas. In 2017, she began studying at the University of Pennsylvania, from which she graduated in May 2022. Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer, didn't transition to gain advantage "They are bringing off-campus hate onto our campus," Georgia Tech Grad Pride president Naiki Kaffezakis told ESPN. Lia Thomas Swimmer ranking before and after - Vim Buzz Honorees 11-20: Outsports Power 100, the most influential LGBTQ people in sports. Thomas triumphed in a single category, so to claim she now dominates womens swimming is misleading. What she did was really hard and she handled it really well.". In that time Ive gotten questions and messages from people across the spectrum supporting and opposing Thomas competing in womens NCAA swimming. The NCAA, however, did not apply those rules to the 2022 swimming championships, and it is unclear how they will apply to swimming eligibility moving forward. Senate ad slams transgender athletes 'pretending to be women' 2:02. The fastest time that year was from Katie Ladecky from Stanford University, who finished at. Fittingly, Virginia ended the meet by breaking the American record in the 400 freestyle relay, finishing in 3:06.91. From her comments we know it has been over two years since Thomas started her medical transition. Thomas began transitioning in 2019 with hormone therapyand followed NCAA and Ivy League rules. "[37], In July 2022, the University of Pennsylvania nominated Thomas for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year Award,[38] one out of 577 athletes nominated for this award. Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day. Thomas was the only finalist to go slower than her qualifying time. Penn's Lia Thomas wins the NCAA championship in the 500 free, touching in a season-best 4:33.24: "It means the world to be here, to be with two of my best friends and my teammates, and to be able . Transgender Swimmer Lia Thomas Loses Bid for NCAA Woman of the Year Award Her critics argued that was precisely the problem. I think everything going on has been really crazy but I just hope things get worked out in the future. Thomas and her rise, though, forced the typically plodding N.C.A.A. "I try to focus on my swimming, what I need to do to get ready for my races. "We need to look at it as we're all competitors right now. When the NCAA announced its new policy on Jan. 19, it opened a can of worms that has yet to be resolved. If she (Thomas) were to be eligible to compete against us, she could now break Penn, Ivy, and NCAA Womens Swimming records; feats she could never have done as a male athlete.. On the other side of the street from Save Women's Sports and CWA were a dozen counterprotesters, who were Georgia Tech graduate and undergraduate students. would not make President Mark Emmert available for an interview. Thomas competed on Pennsylvanias mens team for three years before transitioning and moving to the womens team, setting multiple programme records. [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. [2] She graduated in 2022 and plans to attend law school, pursuing a career as a civil rights attorney. The presence on the podium was indeed much like it was a year ago, with the Cavaliers making frequent trips to the top spots. The Jury's Still Out On Titans Caleb Farley Three Years Into His NFL [4][5][11] Thomas has followed all of the gender-related policies to be eligible to compete as a woman in NCAA swimming. UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER #2: Lia Thomas pulling away over the final 150 meters. The pick was praised for the obvious physical gifts the 6-foot-1, 207-pound corner brought to the field. This conflates a couple pieces of information. We have trained up to 20 hours a week, swimming miles, running and lifting weights. In the 20212022 season, those ranks are now, when competing in the women's team, fifth in the 200 freestyle, first in the 500 freestyle, and eighth in the 1650 freestyle. [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". [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. Although Thomas was 10 seconds off Ledecky's pace and over 2 seconds off of Franklin's, she was seemingly within striking distance in December. That would keep Lia Thomas from trying out for the Olympics. The segment stated, "In 2022, swimmer Lia Thomas became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I Championship by winning the 500 Freestyle. [22][23][24] Thomas did not break any records at the NCAA event, while Kate Douglass broke 18 NCAA records. Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer who dominated the 2021-2022 NCAA women's swimming and diving season, has been nominated by the University of Pennsylvania to receive the NCAA's Woman of the Year award. In the NCAA Division I swimming and diving championships on Saturday, Penn swimmer Lia Thomas took the pool for the final time. Transgender Swimmer Lia Thomas Continues to Dominate, Break Records, at [2] In December 2021, USA Swimming official Cynthia Millen resigned after 30 years in protest of Thomas's eligibility to compete and then appeared on the Fox News show The Ingraham Angle. [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". Lia Thomas becomes first trans woman to win NCAA swimming championship Some of that criticism was on full display in Atlanta. Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. [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. Thomas was nine off the lead when he started the day and given the low-scoring with soft, warm conditions (the field average . "[48] 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps said that "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" and "I don't know what that looks like in the future. These numbers are as of the publication date If they change with future performances by Thomas, we will adjust as we want this analysis to remain accurate.
