Lia Thomas to pursue legal action in bid to return to competition
Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who rose to fame in 2022, is reportedly pursuing legal action against World Aquatics to compete again. The American came under the spotlight when she became the first openly transgender woman to win an NCAA Division I title.
Thomas' win was followed with considerable backlash, and just three months after she raced to victory in the 500-yard freestyle event, World Aquatics introduced a rule banning those to have gone through male puberty from women’s races.
Previously, the governing body of the sport allowed trans women to compete in women's events as long as they lowered their testosterone levels. However, WA cited the significant physical advantages in endurance, power, speed, strength and lung size – from undergoing male puberty as the reason behind the new rule.
Lia Thomas has been unable to compete since the introduction of the rule and has now hired Canadian law firm Tyr to take a case to the court of arbitration for sport in Switzerland. Speaking to the Telegraph UK, Thomas' lawyer, Carlos Sayao said,
“Lia has now had the door closed to her in terms of her future ability to practice her sport and compete at the highest level. She’s bringing the case for herself and other trans women to ensure that any rules for trans women’s participation in sport are fair, proportionate and grounded in human rights and in science.”
Will Lia Thomas be able to compete at the Paris Olympics?
In June of 2022, Lia Thomas had told Good Morning America that like every other athlete, swimming at the Olympics was a big target for her.
‘‘It’s been a goal of mine to swim at Olympic trials for a very long time, and I would love to see that through.”
However, not even a month after this interview, World Aquatics introduced its new policy surrounding trans athletes, essentially banning the 25-year-old from competing.
Now, even though she is pursuing legal action against the WA, Lia Thomas is unlikely to be able to compete at the Paris Olympics, given that her case probably won't be heard before the Games.
With a break in her swimming career, Thomas is pursuing a law degree, with intentions of focusing on civil rights and public interest law.
“Having seen such hateful attacks on trans rights through legislation, fighting for trans rights and trans equality is something that I’ve become much more passionate about and want to pursue,” she told ESPN.