Trans swimmer Lia Thomas aims for Olympics as doctors say she has ‘biological advantage’
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Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas is stirring up controversy once again.
The University of Pennsylvania athlete, who won gold in the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA championships in March, not only plans to keep swimming but she has her eye on a bigger prize: the Olympics.
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Trans swimmer Lia Thomas aims for Olympics as doctors say she has ‘biological advantage’ Back to video
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“I intend to keep swimming,” Thomas said during an interview with Good Morning America. “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 spent three years on Penn’s men’s swimming team and, during the 2018-19 season, ranked 554 in the 200 freestyle, 65 in the 500 freestyle, and 32 in the 1650 freestyle.
In the 2021–2022 season, when competing on the women’s team, Thomas ranked fifth in the 200 freestyle, first in the 500 freestyle, and eighth in the 1650 freestyle.
“I knew there would be scrutiny against me if I competed as a woman, and I was prepared for that,” Thomas said. “But I also don’t need anybody’s permission to be myself and to do the sport that I love.”
This comes as doctors insist the swimmer has an unfair biological advantage following her transition.
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“There are social aspects to sport, but physiology and biology underpin it,” Dr. Michael Joyner of the Mayo Clinic told the New York Times. “Testosterone is the 800-pound gorilla.”
Even after taking testosterone supplements, which are required by the NCAA, “Lia Thomas is the manifestation of the scientific evidence,” sports physiologist Dr. Ross Tucker told the Times. “The reduction in testosterone did not remove her biological advantage.”
Predictably, Thomas disagrees.
“I’m not a medical expert, but there’s a lot of variation among cis female athletes,” she told GMA. “There are cis women who are very tall and very muscular and have more testosterone than another cis woman, and should that then also disqualify them?”
Thomas added: “Trans women are not a threat to women’s sports. Trans people don’t transition for athletics. We transition to be happy and authentic and our true selves. Transitioning to get an advantage is not something that ever factors into our decisions.”
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