5 key events in the 2022 Lia Thomas saga

Throughout 2022, Lia Thomas made headlines for competing in women’s swimming as a man.

Here are five key events in the 2022 Lia Thomas saga.

5. Lia Thomas eyes the 2024 Olympics

Former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas hinted that he will not rule out a potential Olympic run in 2024. Thomas told Sports Illustrated in March that while he is unsure how his swimming career would look after the 2021-2022 season ended, he would “love to continue doing it.”

“I want to swim and compete as who I am,” he stated. Currently, the International Olympic Committee dictates transgender policies are determined by each individual sport. 

4. Lia Thomas is ‘most likely to shatter the glass ceiling,’ classmates believe

University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) transgender swimmer Lia Thomas won the senior superlative “Most Likely to Shatter the Glass Ceiling.” The poll was conducted by the University of Pennsylvania’s 2022 Class Board. 

While the votes were cast by the senior class, some UPenn students are expressing their dismay. “It is just extremely disheartening that a man who dominated a women’s sport is being awarded for his courage and strength,” a female junior student told Campus Reform, requesting anonymity.

3. WATCH: Georgia Tech athletes sound off on Lia Thomas controversy

Campus Reform reporter Alexa Schwerha traveled to Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) ahead of the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming Championship, where transgender swimmer Lia Thomas is causing controversy with his dominance over female athletes.

Thomas, who is biologically male, competed for the University of Pennsylvania on the men’s team for three years before making the switch to the women’s team. For students at Georgia Tech, Thomas’ participation in the women’s league is divisive. Students who disagreed with his participation told Campus Reform that biological advantages make it an unfair playing field for his competition.

2. ’Unfair’: Female swimmers discuss biological disadvantages compared to Lia Thomas, UPenn’s male swimmer on women’s team

Cynthia Millen, a USA Swimming referee, resigned her post in protest of University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) swimmer Lia Thomas, born as Will Thomas, a transgender athlete who has stirred up controversy after dominating the sport on the women’s team. 

Up until November 2019, Thomas competed as a male in the NCAA, which “mandate[s] at least one year of testosterone suppression treatment to be eligible to compete as a woman,” according to the New York Post. Now competing as a female, Thomas has been able to break school records with ease, causing student athletes, and professional athletes, to speak out.

1. ’Everything is messed up’: Lia Thomas takes first place at meet. Parents, students struggle to speak out over transgender athletes.

University of Pennsylvania’s (UPenn) transgender swimmer Lia Thomas placed first in two events at a Jan. 8 meet hosted by UPenn. Anastasia Kukla, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a former swimmer, believes that the biggest issue with allowing men in women’s sports is “fairness.”

“Men will always be bigger and stronger than me,” Kukla told Campus Reform. “It’s a huge disadvantage for me as a 5’0’ female to go against a transgender (fe)male who’s say 5’10. They have a bigger wingspan which in swimming is a huge benefit.”