FISM News

Biological male sets college swimming records competing in women’s events

by Seth Udinski

Seth Udinski, FISM News

 

A new report surfaced over the weekend that a biological male who identifies as female has been shattering school records in women’s swimming, much to the ire of many women’s rights advocates.

Lia Thomas is a 22 year-old swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia who recently underwent gender reassignment, and is now identifying as female. For the first three years of his collegiate career, he competed as a man under his former name, Will Thomas.

At an Ivy League swim meet in late November, Thomas set new Penn University records in the women’s 200-meter freestyle and 500-meter freestyle.

Thomas defended his decision to compete in women’s sports, saying in an interview this past summer:

[Swimming] is a huge part of my life and who I am. I’ve been a swimmer since I was 5 years old. The process of coming out as being trans and continuing to swim was a lot of uncertainty and unknown around an area that’s usually really solid. Realizing I was trans threw that into question. Was I going to keep swimming? What did that look like? Being trans has not affected my ability to do this sport and being able to continue is very rewarding.

Understandably, many are appalled at the innate physical advantage Thomas and other transgender athletes have as biological men competing in women’s athletics. One, coach Linda Blade of Chicago, shared her disgust on Twitter:

This past year, FISM News reported on the shocking case of the biological male MMA fighter named Alana McLaughlin who pummeled his female opponent in a match and was allowed to do so because he identified as a woman. This instance is simply another example of how the sexual revolution has destroyed the integrity of women’s sports.

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