Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer on the College of Pennsylvania, gained the NCAA championships within the 500-yard race on Thursday.
Thomas defeated Virginia freshman Emma Weyant by 1.75 seconds with a time of 4:33.24.
Thomas swam for 3 years at Penn as a male earlier than transitioning, sat out a yr whereas present process testosterone suppression remedy and returned to compete as a girl.
She will even compete within the 200-yard and 100-yard NCAA championships later this week.
Since Thanksgiving, Thomas has been swimming at a fee that urged she would doubtless win nationwide titles. She gained the Ivy League title within the 500-yard, setting a file at Harvard’s Blodgett Pool within the course of in February.
Thomas has come beneath appreciable controversy, as quite a few observers have questioned the equity of an athlete who was born as a organic male competing in opposition to girls. The NCAA made new rules about transgender athletes throughout this season, and primarily left eligibility as much as particular person sports activities.
After her victory, Thomas informed ESPN she tries to tune out the noise.
“I attempt to ignore it as a lot as I can I attempt to give attention to my swimming — what I must do to prepare for my races. I simply attempt to block out all the pieces else,” Thomas mentioned.
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