UPenn nominates trans swimmer Lia Thomas for NCAA Woman of the Year Award, #UPenn #nominees #Trans #Swimmer #Lia #Thomas #NCAA #Woman #Year #Award Welcome to OLASMEDIA TV NEWSThis is what we have for you today:
Lia Thomasthe openly transgender NCAA championship swimmer, has been nominated by the University of Pennsylvania for one of the most prestigious awards in college athletics… NCAA Woman of the Year.
UPenn nominated 22-year-old Thomas for the honor… designed to “recognize student female athletes who have exhausted their aptitude and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers.”
Thomas, of course, has been dominant for the Ivy League school this season — even winning the 500-yard freestyle event at the NCAA Championships (she defeated Olympic silver medalist Emma Weyant by almost 2 seconds) … but it was not without controversy.
Before she made the switch, Lia was a member of the men’s swim team at UPenn… Thomas didn’t have nearly the same success, though.
Many people, including 16 from Lia’s own team, wrote a unanimous letter to university officials asking them to support stricter rules for Thomas and other future transgender athletes.
“However, we also recognize that when it comes to sports competition, the biology of *is a different issue than one’s gender identity,” the letter read. “Biologically, Lia has an unfair advantage over competition in the women’s category as evidenced by her rankings have risen from #462 as a male to #1 as a female.”
As a result of the backlash, the NCAA did: change rules for transgender athletes…however, the rules — which would have prevented Lia from competing so soon after the transition — weren’t in effect last swimming season.
Thomas is one of 577 athletes (each university or college can nominate a maximum of two women) in divisions I, II and III… made up of women from 23 different sports.