Pennsylvania’s Lia Thomas became the first known transgender athlete to win a Division I national title by capturing the 500 free at the NCAA women’s swimming championships in Atlanta on Thursday, while protesters demonstrated outside.
ATLANTA — Lia Thomas is a national champion. Thomas, who is a transgender woman, touched the wall in 4 minutes,33.24 seconds in the 500-yard freestyle on Thursday night to become the first known transgender athlete to win a Division I national championship in any sport. Thomas finished 1.75 seconds ahead of second-place Emma Weyant, of Virginia. Her time was a career best and a little more than 9 seconds off of Katie Ledecky’s 4:24.06 record. The race began with the crowd cheering for each of the swimmers, but fans were noticeably quiet for Thomas‘ introduction. Save Women’s Sports founder Beth Stelzer draped a vinyl banner with the organization’s phrase over the railing. During the race, Thomas was tested by Olympians Brooke Forde (Stanford), Erica Sullivan (Texas) and Weyant, but ultimately the Penn senior pulled away to win her first championship. „It means the world to be here,“ Thomas said in an interview after the race. Thomas, however, declined to attend the NCAA-required postrace news conference. As she stood on the podium with her trophy, she flashed a peace sign, just as she did for her four Ivy League championships. And once again, the crowd was noticeably quiet as she was announced as the champion. „It’s a symbol of Lia’s resilience,“ Schuyler Bailar, the first known transgender man to compete on a Division I men’s team while at Harvard, told ESPN.
