Penn’s Lia Thomas shines in freestyle races against Harvard

Penn’s Lia Thomas shines in freestyle races against Harvard

Lia Thomas

Shutting all the noise around her participation, University of Pennsylvania’s Lia Thomas continues to impress in the women’s division. The 22-year-old transgender woman whose meteoric success has sparked debate around the participation of transgender athletes emerged victorious in freestyle races against Harvard on Saturday.

Days after the NCAA revised their transgender athlete participation, Lia won in the 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle races by some margin. The Penn athlete finished the 100m race in 50.55 seconds while in the 200m race, Thomas won in 1:47.08. Lia, who was born as a biological man, has been competing in the women’s category since the fall.

Lia Thomas swam for Penn’s men’s swimming team for three years in NCAA Division I competition before undergoing testosterone suppression therapy. After the Ivy League cancelled the 2020-21 season, she joined the women’s team and has been unstoppable ever since. In her very first season, Thomas broke two national records to qualify for the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships.

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Does NCAA’s new policy affects Lia Thomas’ participation?

Lia Thomas
Lia Thomas

As the dissent around Lia Thomas’ participation intensified, the NCAA changed their transgender athlete policy. The governing body has decided to follow a sport-by-sport model similarly adopted by the US and international Olympic committees. The NCAA added that the policy would begin with the winter championships.

Under the new policy announced by the NCAA, it seems that Thomas will still be eligible to race this season for Penn. The University has two more meets before the end of the regular season.

Last month, Lai Thomas dominated at the Zippy Invitational Event in Akron, Ohio. The 22-year-old finished the 1,650-yard freestyle 38 seconds ahead of the next closest finisher while completing the 500-meter freestyle 14 seconds ahead of the second-placed Anna Sofia Kalandaze. It was the fastest time for a female in the country and what sparked the debate over her participation.

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