University swimmer speaks out against transgender teammate Lia Thomas

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A transgender swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania who recently dominated a swim meet was slammed by a teammate who claimed she wasn’t as competitive as a man.

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In an interview with the Washington Examiner , the unnamed teammate criticized 22-year-old Lia Thomas about the competitive advantages she gained through her transition, stating the swimmer was “not even close to being competitive” when she swam as a man.

This comes on the heels of an announcement from the USA Swimming team permitting “non-elite” athletes to compete in a way that’s “consistent with their gender identity.” The policy will weigh in on whether trans athletes can compete against biological women.

Thomas’ teammate told the Examiner that women swimmers’ rights aren’t being protected, stating they are “now third-class citizens”, noting the UPenn swimmer thrived against women but wasn’t as competitive against men in the 50m and 100m freestyle swim events.

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“But just because Lia is biologically a man, she is just naturally better than many females in the 50 and the 100 or anything that she wasn’t good at as a man,” said the teammate.

The teammate said the NCAA isn’t paying attention to this simply because it’s women’s sports.

During an NCAA swim meet at Harvard University last week, Thomas claimed first place positions in the women’s 100m and 200m freestyle events with times of 50.55 seconds and 1:47.08 respectively.

Before transitioning, Thomas was a member of the UPenn men’s swim team for three years. The swimmer had to be on hormone therapy for a minimum of one year before being permitted to compete on the woman’s team, Daily Mail reported.

Her spot on the university’s swim team roster has been criticized by teammates, celebrities and swimmers alike, including Caitlyn Jenner and Michael Phelps.

Jenner urged the NCAA to stop transgender athletes from competing against their biological counterparts, stating the rules need to be changed.

“All of this woke world that we are living in right now is not working,” said Jenner, a former Olympic gold medalist who competed in decathlon in the 1976 Montreal Olympics as a man before transitioning in 2015.

Regarding Thomas, Jenner said he felt sorry “for the other athletes that are out there, especially at Penn or anybody she’s competing against, because in the woke world, you’ve got to say, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is great,’ No, it’s not.”

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Phelps, a decorated Olympian with 28 medals, told CNN last week the Thomas controversy was complicated, stating there needs to be a level playing field in an effort to be fair.

Phelps believed NCAA guidelines needed to be remedied to allow trans swimmers like Thomas to compete against female-born swimmers.

“I think this leads back to the organizing committees again because it has to be a level playing field,” said Phelps. “That’s something that we all need. Because that’s what sports are. For me, I don’t know where this is going to go. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

After Thomas’ wins, the NCAA reviewed its guidelines on trans athletes competing, but ultimately left any policy changes to the governing body of the respective sports.

Thomas’ teammate told the Examiner many people agree with her and wants more to speak out against what she thinks is a problem in athletics, but at the same time, doesn’t want to harm her own future swimming chances.

“It’s crazy because I don’t actually know if Lia thinks this is fair,’ she said. “This can’t possibly be rewarding in any way. I can’t see how anyone could feel good about this.”