In the NCAA Division I swimming and diving championships on Saturday, Penn swimmer Lia Thomas took the pool for the final time.
Thomas concluded her career with a last-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle final with a posted time of 48.18 seconds, which was nearly a full second slower than her qualifying time of 47.37 seconds.
While the result of the final race of Thomas’s swimming career might not have been what she wanted, it was a historic final meet for her. She became the first openly transgender national champion after winning the 500-yard freestyle Thursday.
Although NCAA rules allowed Thomas to compete in women’s events, some believed her presence in the competition was unfair. Others supported Thomas and argued that she should be able to compete freely like the other female swimmers in the event.
Two viewpoints emerged during this weekend’s national championship events.
Erica Sullivan, a 1,500-meter freestyle silver medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and current freshman at Texas, wrote an op-ed in Newsweek in which she expressed her support for Thomas.
“This year at the Tokyo Olympics, I saw my wildest dreams come true as I stood on the podium, an out gay silver medalist and one of the first women to swim the 1,500 meter event,” Sullivan wrote. “I feel incredibly grateful that coming out as gay never kept me from being able to participate in the sport I love. All athletes—including transgender athletes—deserve to be respected and included, exactly as we are.
“I have been given a platform to advocate for my community, and I can’t sit silently by as I see a fellow swimmer’s fundamental rights be put up for debate. All swimmers embody a diverse set of identities and characteristics. What makes each of us unique also contributes to our success in the pool. Yet no one questions the validity of how cisgender athletes’ unique traits and skills, or who they are, contribute to their success. However, University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas has been unfairly targeted for just that—for being who she is, a transgender woman.”
Virginia Tech swimmer Réka György, a fifth-year senior who specializes in the 500-yard freestyle event, spoke out against the NCAA for allowing Thomas to compete. The two-time ACC champion was swimming in her final meet and finished 17th in the qualifying heat for the 500-yard freestyle event. She was left out of the final, since only the top 16 swimmers advance.
As for Thomas, when interviewed at the NCAA championships, she discussed her mindset with all eyes on her for reasons that go beyond her swimming.
“I try to ignore it as much as I can,” Thomas told Yahoo. “I try to focus on my swimming, what I need to do to get ready for my races and block out everything else.”
