Lia Thomas

2022 - 5 - 31

Post cover — Image courtesy of "KMID - Local 2 News"

Lia Thomas plans to keep swimming – with an eye on Olympics (KMID - Local 2 News)

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas said she intends to keep competing, with the ultimate goal of reaching the Olympics. In an interview that aired Tuesday on ...

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas breaks silence on criticism: I ... (Union Democrat)

Swimmer Lia Thomas, who became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship earlier this year, is responding to ...

Former Penn Swimmer Lia Thomas Says She Didn't Transition to ... (CalBearsMaven)

After becoming the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship over two months ago, former Pennsylvania swimmer Lia ...

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. Erica Sullivan, a 1,500-meter freestyle silver medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and current freshman at Texas, wrote an op-ed in Newsweek in which she expressed her support for Thomas after competing against her at NCAA championships. “I’m a woman, just like anybody else on the team,” Thomas said in an exclusive interview with SI in January. “I’ve always viewed myself as just a swimmer. What makes each of us unique also contributes to our success in the pool. “I have been given a platform to advocate for my community, and I can’t sit silently by as I see a fellow swimmer’s fundamental rights be put up for debate,” Sullivan wrote. Thomas, who swam on the Penn men’s swimming team for three seasons, joined the women’s team this year after a gap year.

Transgender Swimmer and NCAA Champion Lia Thomas Gives ... (ESPN Press Room)

Katie Barnes' ESPN Conversation Debuted on Tuesday's 'Outside the Lines on SportsCenter'; Juju Chang's Interview with Thomas Premiered on ABC's 'Good ...

Juju Chang is a multiple Emmy® Award-winning co-anchor of ABC News’ “Nightline.” She also reports regularly for “Good Morning America” and “20/20.” Chang’s decades of reporting converged in two hour-long primetime specials in 2021. In 2019, they were an executive producer on the “30 for 30” short Mack Wrestles, which told the story of transgender wrestler Mack Beggs as he graduated high school and left home for college. Their work has appeared across multiple ESPN platforms, including ESPN.com, “SportsCenter,” “Outside the Lines” and the “ESPN Daily” podcast. Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, the 2022 NCAA 500 freestyle champion from the University of Pennsylvania, participated in an exclusive interview with ESPN and ABC News – her first televised conversation away from the pool since her controversial swimming season. In March, Thomas became the first known transgender athlete to win a Division I national championship in any sport. Barnes’ and Chang’s interviews aired jointly on Tuesday, May 31 across the networks.

Former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas responds ... (ESPN)

In an exclusive ABC News/ESPN interview, former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas responded to critics who say transgender women threaten ...

In January, the NCAA announced a change in policy, saying it would rely on the policies of the national governing bodies for each sport to determine eligibility. When Thomas began her senior season in November 2021, she had undergone 30 months of hormone therapy. "Trans women are a very small minority of all athletes. She made national headlines after her performance at the Zippy Invitational in Akron, Ohio, in December 2021, when she posted the nation's fastest times in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle. The bills, they said, were needed to protect the sanctity of women's sports. "The biggest misconception, I think, is the reason I transitioned," Thomas said.

Swimmer Lia Thomas, Who Is Transgender, Opens Up About ... (PEOPLE.com)

In March, Lia Thomas became the first openly trans athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship in any sport.

Addressing the argument that trans athletes make things unfair for cisgender women, Thomas told ESPN and ABC News: "If you say, like, you can compete, but you can't score or you're in an extra lane nine, that's very othering towards trans people. Months later, in January, the NCAA said that it would follow the lead of each sport when deciding if a trans athlete could compete. "It's no different than a cis woman taking a spot on a travel team or a scholarship. Speaking about her transition, Thomas — who experienced gender dysphoria and mental health issues — said that she started hormone therapy in May 2019. The NCAA rules regarding trans women competing in women's sports have been around for 10-plus years. She then shared her thoughts on recent legislation that aims to limit trans athletes.