Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania, has just broken another record, igniting another round of controversy and uproar.
Thomas was a mediocre athlete when competing in men’s sports, but has found success in competing against women. Why are biological women putting up with this?
John Lohn reports at Swimming World:
Lia Thomas Breaks Pool Record of Olympian Kate Ziegler In 500 Freestyle Win at Ivy League ChampsOne night after posting the fastest split in the 800-yard freestyle relay, the University of Pennsylvania’s Lia Thomas captured her first individual title at the Ivy League Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. Thomas, a transgender woman, produced a winning time of 4:37.32, which was more than seven seconds quicker than the 4:44.83 clocked by teammate Catherine Buroker for second place.A three-year member of Penn’s men’s team, Thomas transitioned to female during the COVID-19 pandemic and is in her first season as a member of the women’s team. Her performance at the Ivy League Champs established a Blodgett Pool record, breaking the mark of Olympian Kate Ziegler, and just missed the meet record of 4:36.37, set in 2020 by Ellie Marquardt of Princeton. Marquardt was third on Thursday night in 4:46.63.
Swimmer Catherine Buroker, who placed second, is being called the real winner by some.
Sumanti Sen reports at MEAWW:
Who is Catherine Buroker? Fans hail Penn swimmer as ‘TRUE’ Ivy League championPenn swimmer Lia Thomas won the 500-yard freestyle race at the Ivy League championships on Thursday night, February 17, swimming neck to neck with her competitors for the first part of the race. Thomas took a lead around the halfway mark and finished in 4 minutes, 37.32 seconds.Penn sophomore Catherine Buroker was in second place and posted a time of 4:44.83, which is a seasonal best. Social media, however, has hailed Buroker as the ‘true’ winner, a belief that has stemmed from a lot of controversies that have surrounded transgender swimmer Thomas in recent times. Thomas, 22, is a swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania who has been shattering women’s records at the school. Thomas competed for three years at Penn as a man, Will Thomas, before the transition…Owing to all the controversy that Thomas has been in the midst of, social media has dubbed Buroker as the actual champion. “Catherine Buroker had the fastest time for a biological female and should be the IVY Champion in the 500 free. @pennathletics decision to allow Thomas to compete in the Ivy Championships is a clear message to Catherine and her biological teammates that they don’t matter,” one user wrote.
Lots of people on Twitter are reacting to this tweet:
This sums it up…
Jesse Kelly makes a good point.
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