A senior at the University of Pennsylvania who competed as a male swimmer for the last three years has now transitioned to female and is breaking records as a woman swimmer.
The situation has caused an uproar as people claim that this person now has an unfair advantage.
The Daily Mail reports:
UPenn trans swimmer, 22, sparks outrage by SMASHING women’s competition records after competing as a man for three seasonsA trans swimmer and senior at the University of Pennsylvania, who previously spent three years competing as a man, is now crushing records in women’s events, sparking outrage amid controversy surrounding transgender athletes.Lia Thomas, 22, formerly named Will, has competed in a number of events recently, including a tri-meet with Cornell and Princeton universities on November 20 where the senior ‘blasted’ UPenn records in the 200m and 500m freestyle – posting times that beat almost every other female swimmer across America.With a time of 1:43:47 in the 200m freestyle, Thomas would have been in line to secure a silver medal at the NCAA Women’s Championships, while her 4:35:06 in the 500m freestyle would have been good enough to win bronze.This is the latest controversy in the ongoing argument over whether trans people should be allowed to compete in sports alongside athletes of the opposite gender than they were assigned at birth.It is unknown when Thomas began transitioning, but NCAA rules state she had to have completed one year of testosterone suppression treatment in order to compete.
This is an ongoing controversy in women’s sports, particularly in higher education where scholarships are concerned.
Zachary Faria writes at the Washington Examiner:
Just two years ago, Lia Thomas was competing in men’s swimming at Penn as Will Thomas. In the 2018-19 season, Thomas was a second-team All-Ivy swimmer in three different events. After last competing against men in November 2019, Thomas returned after the Ivy League canceled the 2020-21 season because of COVID to compete against women and has obviously seen great success.Women who otherwise would have been on Penn’s team are out of luck. So are the women who would have won these events had they not been competing against a man. And more will be out of luck later on. Thomas’s times would have won silver and bronze in two events at the 2021 NCAA Women’s Championships.We have already seen a man well past his physical prime taking a spot at the Olympics away from a 21-year-old female athlete . Now, a man who was winning against men just two years ago is dominating women’s swimming in the Ivy League, all because sports leagues and organizations are rejecting basic biology in favor of scientifically illiterate gender ideology.This is only going to get worse, as the Olympics have now signaled their support for more men to compete in women’s events.
This is not fair to women athletes.
Featured image via YouTube.
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