2022 Ivy League Womens Swimming and Diving Championships — Lia Thomas at the 2022 Ivy League Women's Swimming and Diving Championships (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Lia Thomas at NCAA Championships: Performance, achievements and more

Modified Mar 13, 2024 12:32 GMT

Lia Thomas is a Texas-born, openly transgender swimmer who swam as part of the University of Pennsylvania's swim team. She was on the university's swim team from 2017 to 2022, with her NCAA eligibility expiring earlier this year.

Thomas' participation as part of the University of Pennsylvania's Women's team from 2021 to 2022 came at the back of swimming for the university's men's team for three years.

She has been at the heart of the debate on "Trans Women in Sports".

Thomas swims during the 400-yard freestyle relay at the Ivy League Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, 2022 (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Thomas' NCAA career

Thomas' collegiate career began when she joined the men's swimming team at the University of Pennsylvania in 2017. As a student-athlete on the men's team, her achievements include recording the sixth fastest national men's time in the 1000-yard freestyle and finishing second in three events at the Ivy League Championships as a sophomore.

The American swimmer started transitioning in 2019 using hormone replacement therapy (HRT), however, she was required to swim on the men's team for the 2019-20 season.

Thomas at the Ivy League Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, 2022 (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Entering the 2020-21 academic year, she was allowed to swim on the women's team at the University. During her time with the women's team, she has been consistently competitive, often finishing races in the top 10 spots. Her rankings on the 2021-22 season stood as follows:

5th - 200 freestyle
1st - 500 freestyle
8th - 1650 freestyle

In March 2022, Thomas etched her name in American history by winning the 500-yard freestyle and becoming an NCAA Division-I national champion. By doing so, she became the first openly transgender athlete to win gold at the NCAA D-1.

Thomas stopped the clock at 4:33.24, finishing 1.75 seconds ahead of Olympic silver medalist Emma Weyant. She also competed in the final of the 200 freestyle and the 100 freestyle, finishing fifth and last, respectively.

The uproar caused people to even show up outside NCAA events in protest of her participation. Thomas addressed this in her interview with ABC News' Juju Chang:

"I knew there would be scrutiny against me if I competed as a woman. I was prepared for that, but I also don’t need anybody’s permission to be myself and to do the sport that love."

Thomas' future in swimming

Speaking to the host of Good Morning America in May, who questioned her future in the sport, she said:

"I intend to keep swimming. 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."

Thomas at the 2022 Ivy League Women's Swimming and Diving Championships (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Unfortunately, for Thomas, the very next month, FINA, the authority on various international competitions, voted against transgender athletes who have experienced male puberty above Tanner stage 2 (12/13 years old), barring them from competing in professional women's competitions.

This meant that since Thomas only transitioned into her early 20s, she could not participate or qualify for the 2024 Olympic trials.

The very next month, in July, Lia Thomas was nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award, along with 566 other athletes.