University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomas won the women’s 500-yard freestyle at the Ivy League Championships Thursday — setting a new pool record.
Thomas, who transitioned from male to female, became an Ivy League champion with a time of 4:37.32 in the women’s event – the best time ever recorded at Harvard University’s Blodgett Pool.
Thomas’ competitors kept it close until roughly the halfway mark – when she took a sizable lead and cut three seconds off her personal best, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Penn sophomore Catherine Buroker came in second, while the defending Ivy League champ — Princeton sophomore Ellie Marquardt – finished in third.
Thomas, 22, entered the Ivy League Championships, which run through Saturday, as the top seed in the 200-yard, 500-yard and 1,650-yard freestyle events, the Inquirer reported.
Thomas and Yale University’s Iszac Henig, who is transitioning from female to male while competing as a woman, had the top two times in the 800-yard freestyle relay Wednesday, but neither squad won the overall race. Harvard finished first, with Yale coming in second and Penn in third.
Henig, meanwhile, took home the 50-yard freestyle Thursday, winning in a time of 21.93 seconds — besting his own pool record set during prelims, ESPN reported
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Thomas, who wasn’t made available to the media after her win, has been thrust in the national spotlight amid a debate over whether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete against biological females in sporting events.
Supporters say she has adhered to all eligibility requirements, including being on hormone therapy for more than two years.
However, 16 of Thomas’ teammates wrote Penn and Ivy League officials seeking for her to be banned from the championships, the Inquirer reported.
NCAA officials then announced it would not alter the previously approved testosterone threshold for transgender women to compete, paving the way for Thomas to get into the pool.
Thomas is scheduled to swim the 200 freestyle Friday and either the 1,650- or 100-yard freestyle on Saturday, ESPN reported.
Penn senior Andie Myers donned a facemask with a transgender flag Thursday in support of Thomas, she told ESPN.
“I want everyone at this meet to know that I support her,” Myers said. “She’s worked for all of this and she’s given up so much to transition and to be authentically herself. I think it’s really important and I think it’s really brave what she’s doing today.”
With Post wires