Transgender swimmer out of Olympics after being dealt deadly authorized blow
Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas‘ demand that she be allowed to swim against women in the Olympics has been dealt a fatal blow after she lost a crucial lawsuit.
Thomas, 25, had asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn a ban on biological males competing against women in hopes of competing in the Olympics.
Thomas first rose to prominence after becoming the first transgender athlete to win a NCAA college title in 2022 and has been banned from competing against biological women in international events since following a change in regulations.
World Aquatics changed its policies so that transgender women can only compete in women’s races if they have completed their transition by the age of 12.
According to The Guardian, Thomas argued that those rules should be declared ‘invalid and unlawful’, and broke the Olympic charter and the World Aquatics convention.
In a decision handed down at the court of arbitration for sport, they concluded that Thomas wasn’t ‘entitled to engage with eligibility to compete in WA competitions’.
Thomas, 25, first rose to prominence after becoming the first transgender athlete to win a NCAA college title in 2022
World Aquatics welcomed the news, hailing it as a ‘major step forward in our efforts to protect women’s sport.’
The group told the outlet: ‘World Aquatics is dedicated to fostering an environment that promotes fairness, respect, and equal opportunities for athletes of all genders and we reaffirm this pledge.’
They introduced their new rules after Thomas beat Olympic silver medalist Emma Weyant by 1.75 sec to win NCAA gold.
In a scientific document backing their ban on those who have ‘undergone any part of male puberty’, WA said swimmers like Thomas retained physical advantages.
They said that such advantages included endurance, power, speed, strength and lung size, even after reducing their testosterone levels through medication.
The debate over transgender athletes participation in elite sport intensified when Thomas became the first transgender NCAA champion in Division I history.
Thomas, representing the University of Pennsylvania, won the women’s 500-yard freestyle title in 2022, months before World Aquatics ban.
Three United States female Olympic silver medalists were beaten by Thomas in the final.
Thomas swam for the Pennsylvanian men’s team for three seasons before starting hormone replacement therapy in spring 2019.
