“Uncertain final outcome”: Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas took a ‘leap of faith’ when she came out to coaches and teammates
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Lia Thomas
Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas has caused controversy over the entirety of the last year after competing and winning in the women’s category at the NCAA National Championships. The matter worsened when Thomas was nominated for “Woman of the Year”- a move unwelcome by everyone. Thomas earlier competed for the men’s team at UPenn before switching to the women’s team after her transition last year.
Recently however, Thomas spoke up about her experience with her team, coaches and teammates, and how they reacted to the time when she came out. Thomas began transitioning in May of 2019, and came out to her team in her junior year. She spoke about the experience, calling it a ‘leap of faith’.
Lia Thomas’ ‘tough’ transition was met with support and backlash alike
Speaking to ESPN, Thomas said, “One of the toughest moments was when I first came out to coaches and my team. I had no idea how they would react, whether they would accept me or not. I didn’t know what the final outcome would be. It was a leap of faith I had to take to continue swimming.”
“I am very lucky to have supportive coaches and teammates. I went into my swimming career after that not knowing what would happen. I didn’t know how fast I would be.” When asked about how her teammates felt about it, Thomas said that they were supportive of it. However, she did say that she was expecting some backlash. Unfortunately for Thomas, she has been on the critical end of the situation, and the backlash has exceeded her expectations.
Also read: “The dream may come true” Cody Simpson added to team Australia for match against USA
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Saivee Phatak
(1164 Articles Published)