University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas is favored to make history as the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I title when she takes to the pool Thursday night at the Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Atlanta.
Thomas, a fifth-year senior, qualified first in prelims of the women’s 500-yard freestyle Thursday morning with a time of 4 minutes and 33.82 seconds. Her time was about 3 seconds faster than the next closest competitor, Texas freshman and Olympic silver medalist Erica Sullivan, and represents the fastest time of this NCAA season.
The finals in the 500-yard freestyle are set for 6 p.m. ET.
Thomas also is favored to win the 200-yard freestyle on Friday and is set to compete in the 100-yard freestyle on Saturday.
With a win, Thomas would be the first transgender athlete to win a D-I title in any sport. CeCé Telfer was the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA title of any kind when she won the 2019 Division II championship in the women’s 400-meter hurdles.
Thomas, who previously swam for the men’s team at Penn, has come to personify the ongoing debate on trans women’s participation in sports and the balance between inclusion and fair play.
She first launched into the public eye with a stunning performance at the Zippy Invitational in Ohio in December, when she set NCAA season best times in the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle races. At the Ivy League women’s championships last month, she won the 100-yard, 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle races.
With success has come criticism about whether trans women should be allowed to compete in women’s sports. Her face has been prominently displayed on Fox News and right-wing news sites critical of society’s changing views on sex and gender.
Some of her Penn teammates also have taken issue with her participation. Last month, an anonymous letter written on behalf of 16 of her 40 Penn teammates criticized what they saw as her “unfair advantage,” saying they supported her gender transition out of the pool but not necessarily in it.
In response, over 300 current and former swimmers, collegiate and elite, signed their names to an open letter defending Thomas’ ability to compete. One of those signees was Sullivan, her closest competitor in the 500 free Thursday.
“I was fortunate enough to be welcomed with open arms in the swim community when I came out as gay,” Sullivan said in a statement. “Just with my own personal good experience of coming out and feeling all that love and support within my swim community, I feel like [Lia] deserves the same thing.”
