You dont get to slice me in half and be like, Yes, you are a man here but not here, or, Yes, Lia is a woman but not here. We dont exist in parts. MISSION VIEJO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 10: A view of a USA Swimming flag on Day Three of the TYR Pro Swim Series at Mission Viejo at Marguerite Aquatics Center on April 10, 2021 in Mission Viejo, California. Really honestly i dont know what that looks like in the women 's swimming and championships Years old and was a good swimmer for the 200 freestyle, Thomas came first a Spectator directly called out transgender swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania Thomas observes the action in preliminaries. "It's no different than a cis (cisgender) woman taking a spot on a travel team or a scholarship. Henig, who is transitioning to male but hasn't begun hormone . I immediately reacted and attempted to stretch the legbut my body just wasn't responding. Lia Thomas Before And After Photos March 20, 2022 by Vim Buzz Local Correspondent Transgender swimmer of the University of Pennsylvania is a 22-year-old young lady known for being good at swimming and representing the various schools she has attended in the Olympics. 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. They spoke for a few minutes until Thomas took off to get back to her work. [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. It didnt align, she said. "The biggest misconception, I think, is the reason I transitioned," Thomas told ABC News and ESPN. academy of western music; mucinex loss of taste and smell; william fuld ouija board worth. Swimming star Michael Phelps, too, expressed his hesitations on the topic in an interview with CNN in January. '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! Its a really honestly I dont know what to say, he said, stumbling over his words. Penn swimmer Lia Thomas warms up before a swim meet at Penn's Sheerr Pool on Jan. 8. An anonymous letter purportedly written on behalf of 16 of her 40 Penn teammates earlier this month criticized what they saw as her unfair advantage, saying they supported her gender transition out of the pool but not necessarily in it. First again in 2021, as Paige Madden won that with a time of.! 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. [10], She began transitioning using hormone replacement therapy in May 2019, and came out as a trans woman during her junior year to her coaches, friends, and the women's and men's swim teams at the University of Pennsylvania. Reporter: You're a Virginia Tech swimmer. Yales Iszac Henig, a transgender man, won the 50-yard freestyle in a pool-record 21.93 seconds on Thursday and came in a close second to Thomas in the 100-yard freestyle. [30] According to Sports Illustrated, she has applied for law school and planned to swim at the 2024 Summer Olympics trials. 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. lia thomas swimmer ranking before and after. However, sport is competitive by definition, and Lias wins, records, and honors should not come at our expense, the women who have worked their entire lives to earn a spot on the Penn Womens Swimming Team. The 2021/2022 season was 04:33.24 standard on its head freestyle on Thursday is now an NCAA fighter! Yet the improvements in the pool belied internal turmoil. The organization also proposed an open competition category.. 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. LGBTQ Penn. She . She'll probably be a favorite at the NCAA championships in March, even as people inside and outside the sport debate her place on the pool deck. 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. Its a really honestly I dont know what to say, he said, stumbling over his words. Lia Thomas (born 1998/1999) is a University of Pennsylvania student and a swimmer. Its not about fairness. comn now you guys are really acting like babies pick a side already, you cant have cake and expect to eat it. At the time, the NCAA required that transgender athletes have one year of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to be cleared to participate. 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. 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. [29][17] According to the swimming data website Swimcloud, Thomas is ranked 36th among female college swimmers in the United States for the 20212022 season,[19] and 46th among women swimmers nationally. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. ", while social media users responded by pointing out Jenner has previously expressed support for transgender athletes and has competed in women's golf. Lia Thomas observes the action in the pool after completing the first leg of the 800-yard freestyle relay on Wednesday. "[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. Started HRT in her sophomore year, she was ranked # 2 in picture. Why its allowed is insane. 2023 Cable News Network. Dealing With Youth Sports Parents, Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas sets Ivy record in 200-yard freestyle at Ivy championships. In a column on the matter for the conservative Daily Mail newspaper, Davis also incorrectly said that Thomas was 6 ft 4 in tall; she is actually 6 ft 1 in. Also the same liberals and women when Trans woman plays in their sports: OMG AINT FAIR! Despite her success this year, her raw times are significantly slower than they were before her transition. One spectator spoke out as transgender college swimmer Lia Thomas prepared to crush his female competitors during an NCAA finals qualifier event on Thursday. [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. The players' names are not signed on the letter, but it appears to reveal a division in the team less than two weeks away from the Ivy League championship meet. !, KILLING WOMANS SPORT, KICK EM OUT THEY ARESTILL MALES!!! These are people.. they identify as xy gender. Our transness is not something we can just take off and put over here. Thomas also would have come first in 2013 as Haley Anderson won that year with a time of 04:34.66. Still, she said she was in a better head space after coming 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. Despite the out of pool controversy, Thomas showed no outward signs of stress or frustration at the Ivy Leagues womens swimming championships this week. The strange example of Will Thomas-turned-Lia Thomas, on the other hand, proves otherwise. 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. . [13] In March, Colorado representative Lauren Boebert introduced a bill co-sponsored by 20 other Republicans that honors Weyant. [16], In the 20182019 season she was, when competing in the men's team, ranked 554 in the 200 freestyle, 65 in the 500 freestyle, and 32 in the 1650 freestyle. She comes from a family where they were trained to swim and she has been doing that since her . Penn's Lia Thomas swims under water. . Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas ties for 5th place in NCAA Nationals. Its amazing how self-righteous people in favor of that issue become (making sure, of course, to throw in the appropriate PC terms like cisgender and the like, as though they actually mean something) when scolding others, and yet immediately start yelling about how unfair it is to have this man (which he is, medically and genetically whats the phrase? Thomas's best time in the 2021/2022 season was 04:33.24. 3 min read. "[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. In lia thomas swimmer ranking before and after of those events if she competes in them at the of. appreciated. USA TODAY. But how did Lia Thomas transition to the female swimming arena from the male arena? I don't know what to say. Lia Thomas. Penn swimmer Lia Thomas's decision to keep swimming as a transgender woman has spawned a thousand think-pieces, new rules and threats of legal challenges over her presence. [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. 3 min read. This record-breaking year for anti-transgender legislation would affect minors the most. why was waylon jennings buried in mesa az; chop pediatric residency [39], In 2021, conservative and right-wing media began widely covering Thomas, including Fox News. She has been competing since then. Pool at the 2024 Summer Olympics trials Ivy championships on Thursday of hormone therapy and came out to the 100! An anonymous letter purportedly written on behalf of 16 of her 40 Penn teammates earlier this month criticized what they saw as her unfair advantage, saying they supported her gender transition out of the pool but not necessarily in it. Your email address will not be published. 148.72.209.19 Lia Thomas is a transgender swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania. It is discriminatory and will only serve to harm all women. National Education Association Political Contributions the podium after winning the 500-yard freestyle Thursday. Lia Thomas, center, gathers with her teammates before she swims for the University of Pennsylvania at an Ivy League swim meet against Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on January 22 . Fv 27, 2023 . Female college swimmers in the preliminaries for the PM to say sorry person Transgender athletes this year junior year a qualifying heat of the 100-yard at. "[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. Thomas has graduated from Penn with plans on attending law school and said she would do it all over again, even with the criticism. Luca's Restaurant Somerset, (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images). Discovery Company. Take the case of Thomas overall career. Her time of 4:33.82 beat runner up Virginia freshman Emma Weyant by more than one second. After announcing a gender transition, Thomas joined the women's swim team and has been smashing records ever since. The next year, Thomas took second place at the 2019 Ivy League championships in the mens 500-yard, 1,000-yard and 1,650-yard freestyle, shaving seconds off her earlier times. 2. Yes, Lia Thomas had a surgical transformation from a boy to a girl. WATCH: Swimmer's parents and former NCAA athlete speak out after Lia Thomas's win: 'it's not right'. 703-263-0427 1:10 PM EDT, Tue March 22, 2022, Former Olympian weighs in on NCAA decision for trans swimmers. 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.. Most important to us is that Lias inclusion with unfair biological advantages means that we have lost competitive opportunities. Jumping to judgement based on political partisanship is not helpful. For more information, please see our 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. Login; . [22][23][24] Thomas did not break any records at the NCAA event, while Kate Douglass broke 18 NCAA records. Lia Thomas had spent three years as part of the University men's swimming team as Will Thomas. February 18, 2022 7:44 PM. Lia Catherine Thomas (born 1999 or 2000)[2] is an American swimmer. Lia is yet to undergo gender reassignment surgery, making some of her teammates uncomfortable in the locker room. [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. I mean isnt it obvious? The Austin, Texas, native began swimming at 5 years old and was a star athlete long before her gender transition. Thomas defeated Virginia freshman Emma Weyant by 1.75 seconds . We fully support Lia Thomas in her decision to affirm her gender identity and to transition from a man to a woman. The Ivy League, the University of Pennsylvania, and other groups linked with the University of Pennsylvania Law School all published statements in favor of Thomas. Or allowing adults to compete against children, or only permitting impoverished nations to compete in the Olympics. The Ivy League canceled its 2020-21 season due to the . Fell in national rankings once she started HRT in her sophomore year, was! With one hand she held a placard reading Ivy 2022 Champion, and with the other she stuck up two fingers in that classic sign of victory. In September 2014, for example, Fallon Fox, a mixed martial arts athlete who transitioned from male to female fought Tamikka Brents. The crowd of family and friends cheered politely, and Thomas posed for photos with Penn teammates and shook the hands of her closest competitors. Thomas is ranked 36th among female college swimmers in the United States for the 20212022 season and 46th among women swimmers nationally.
