Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas will not take advantage of the opportunity to be an athlete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Thomas, the biological male who won a women’s national championship in 2022, has officially lost a legal battle with World Aquatics while swimming for Penn, in which Thomas argued that his competition against women was “invalid and unlawful.”
The 25-year-old was banned from swimming in the women’s category in the summer of 2022 when the sport’s governing body banned anyone undergoing “part of male puberty” from competing against biological females.
World Aquatics welcomed the court’s decision to uphold the rule keeping Thomas out of the women’s pool, calling it “an important step forward in our efforts to protect women’s sports.”
“World Aquatics is dedicated to fostering an environment that promotes equity, respect and equal opportunity for athletes of all genders, and we reaffirm this commitment,” the organization said, according to The Guardian .
It’s worth noting that World Aquatics has not banned transgender athletes from competition. The organization has introduced an “open” category for transgender swimmers. The new category debuted during last year’s World Championships in Berlin, but the category did not receive a single entry.
Lia Thomas stands next to Outkick’s Riley Gaines after winning an NCAA title against biological women. (Photo by Rich von Biblerstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Thomas, who was an average swimmer at best when she competed against the men, is no longer a member of USA Swimming and is taking the court’s decision against a policy change to benefit them so easily.
“The panel concludes that the athlete is not eligible to compete in the “elite event” as defined by USA Swimming policy, let alone compete in a WA competition, which occurs when registering with WA prior to a competition, or by producing a performance that results in an application for registration as a WA world record, he is simply not eligible to withdraw from the competition.
“Policy and operational requirements are simply not triggered by their current state.”
The U.S. Olympic Trials begin on June 15 in Indianapolis and will be held for the first time on a soccer field at Lucas Oil Stadium.
When ESPN and ABC honored Thomas during Women’s History Month in 2022, Thomas sat down with “Good Morning America” and made it clear that the 2024 Olympics were on her mind.
“It has been a goal of mine to swim in Olympic trials for a long time, and I would like to see that happen,” Thomas said.
Fortunately, common sense has prevailed, and women will have the opportunity to compete on the women’s swim team and represent the United States in Paris.
