Transgender Athlete Lia Thomas takes UPenn Swimming by Storm

Photo by Jacob Rice on Unsplash

A big controversy in the sports world has revolved around University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, a transgender woman who was assigned male at birth. Thomas previously competed as a male on the swimming team for three seasons until she recently came out as transgender during this past swim season.

Thomas has been a dominant force for UPenn's swim team. She broke several women's records, with the next fastest swimmer finishing a whopping 38 seconds behind her in the 1650- meter freestyle. Thomas also went on to set the nation’s best times in the 200 meter (1:41.93) and 500 meter (4:34.06) earlier this season. Many people have been wondering: is this fair? Is a transgender person who was recently swimming for the male team eligible to join the women’s team? Is it a surprise that she dominates? Thomas has been taking testosterone blockers in addition to estrogen for over a year, which makes her eligible to swim in women’s collegiate events, as per NCAA regulations.

Many current college athletes and officials have spoken out about the complicated situation of Thomas’ dominance in the women's sport. Cynthia Millen, who officiated USA swimming meets for over three decades, appeared on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show to explain that the argument lies in Thomas’s sex, not her gender. 

“The fact is that swimming is a sport in which bodies compete against bodies. Identities do not compete against identities. Men are different from women; men swimmers are different from women, and they will always be faster than women,” Millen said.

Millen added to her argument by dissenting against the fact that Thomas has been taking testosterone blockers, misgendering her in the process. 

“While Lia Thomas is a child of God, he is a biological male who is competing against women,” Millen said. “No matter how much testosterone suppression drugs he takes, he will always be a biological male and have the advantage.”

Other swimmers on their respective NCAA teams have also voiced their opinion against Lia Thomas and her abilities. A female swimmer on Niagara University's swim team, who decided to remain anonymous, told the Independent that, “swimming against Lia Thomas was intimidating. It was hard going into a race knowing there was no way I was going to get first.”

I believe it is a little unfair for these cisgendered female swimmers who have worked their entire lives toward a spot or scholarship at their respective schools to face someone who has previously competed in men’s races.

Lia Thomas is a woman now, yes, but she has only been taking estrogen and testosterone blockers for a year. It can take 2-5 years at least for all physical changes to take place. The situation would be different if Thomas had come out as transgender while she was in high school or as a young boy because the change occurred early enough to alter her body to be similar to a cisgendered female. It is very defeating for these cisgender female swimmers to watch Thomas hop into the pool and crush all the records, leaving the other women in the pool with virtually no chance.  

A proponent of allowing Thomas to swim argues that this new precedent could motivate other cisgendered female athletes to work harder and become even better swimmers to challenge Thomas. In addition, society today has become more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community, which Thomas can help further by serving as representation in sports for all the young people who are scared to come out as transgender. Thomas is spreading awareness for transgender athletes and proving that they can make a name for themselves in their respective sports.    

Thomas is aware of the backlash she faces for being an elite transgender swimmer in the sport. She tries not to let it bother her though, stating that it’s “not healthy for me to read it and engage with it at all, and so I don’t, and that’s all I’ll say on that.” 

Thomas also told Sports Illustrated, "the very simple answer is that I'm not a man. I'm a woman, so I belong on the women's team. Trans people deserve that same respect every other athlete gets." It's clear, Thomas has affected others negatively with her swimming ability, but others may see it as the world still has stages to go in accepting transgender athletes.