ATLANTA — Amid intense scrutiny and opposition, University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas on Thursday became the first transgender athlete to win a Division I collegiate national championship.
Thomas, a fifth-year senior and transgender woman, propelled past Olympic swimmers to place first in the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA D1 Women’s Swimming and Diving National Championship at Georgia Institute of Technology.
Thomas finished the race in 4:33.24, about three seconds faster than her season best, and maintaining her spot as the top swimmer in the nation among collegiate women in the 500 free this year.
Emma Weyant, a University of Virginia freshman who’s also an Olympian, placed second with a time of 4:34.99. Erica Sullivan, a University of Texas freshman and a U.S. Olympian, placed third with a time of 4:35.92.
Thomas competed on Penn’s men’s team for three seasons. She came out as trans in mid-2018, and began taking testosterone suppressants and estrogen in May 2019. This is her first year on the women’s team, after last season was canceled by the pandemic. She holds the nation’s best swim times this year in the 500 and 200-yard freestyle.
Because of her success and identity as a trans woman, Thomas is at the center of a national debate on trans athletes’ rights to participate. Thomas’ detractors say that her male-at-birth assignment gives her an unfair biological advantage, while supporters say that because Thomas has followed all eligibility protocols, she has a right to compete.
