Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas takes top spot for 2nd time in Ivy League swimming championships
Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer who is competing for the Penn women’s swim team, set a pool and meet record in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:43.12. She finished 1.75 seconds ahead of her next closest challenger. The 200 win comes a day after she set another pool record in the 500-yard finals and that one wasn’t close as she edged out her next closest challenger by 7.5 seconds.
The participation of Thomas, who competed on the men’s team for her first three years at Penn, has been controversial. That included an incident in which 16 of her teammates reportedly wrote a letter to the school and the Ivy League saying that Thomas had an unfair advantage and should not be able to compete.
Penn has issued a statement in support of Thomas, and 300 swimmers from around the country issued an open letter supporting her, too.
Thomas, who has turned in the top times in the nation in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle events this season, had her path to the national championships cleared recently during an NCAA subcommittee meeting. As long as she meets the NCAA’s current testosterone thresholds, she is expected to be allowed to compete.
https://www.pennlive.com/sports/2022/02/penn-transgender-swimmer-lia-thomas-takes-top-spot-for-second-time-in-ivy-league-womens-swimming-championships.html
University of Pennsylvania's Lia Thomas wears her medal after winning the women's 200 yard-freestyle race during the Women's Ivy League Swimming and Diving Championships Friday. Thomas won the race with a time of 1:43.12. Harvard swimmers Samantha Shelton (left) and Molly Hamlin place second and third, respectively.
YONG KIM / Staff Photographer
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