Ivy League Champs: Harvard Wins 800 Free Relay; Transgender Athletes Lia Thomas, Iszac Henig Post Fastest Splits

Ivy League Champs: Harvard Wins 800 Free Relay; Transgender Athletes Lia Thomas, Iszac Henig Post Fastest Splits

The Ivy League Women’s Championships opened on Wednesday night with Princeton and Harvard registering relay victories, and Lia Thomas and Iszac Henig turning in quick performances for Pennsylvania and Yale, respectively. The meet will run through Saturday, with individual action starting on Thursday.

Harvard capped the night with a victory in the 800-yard freestyle relay, as the quartet of Felicia Pasadyn, Samantha Shelton, Addie Rose Bullock and Molly Hamlin combined for a time of 7:06.66. Pasadyn had the top time, leading off in 1:45.31. Hamlin anchored the Crimson in 1:46.04. Yale placed second in 7:08.33, with Penn finishing third in 7:09.91.

Ivy League Meet Page

The leadoff leg of the 800 freestyle relay featured a duel between Thomas and Henig, with Thomas rallying down the last lap to touch in 1:44.50, ahead of the 1:44.65 of Henig. Those were the top splits of the event. Thomas has been the subject of controversy throughout the winter, as she is in her first season competing on the Penn women’s team after transitioning to female. She previously competed for three years as a member of the Penn men’s team.

Although Thomas – when the season started – was in accordance with NCAA rules concerning participation by transgender athletes, she was dominant in early-season competition and sparked debate concerning her male-puberty advantage. At the Ivy League Championships, Thomas was more than two seconds slower than the 1:41.93 effort she posted at the Zippy Invitational. Still, her time was the fastest of the event.

Whether Thomas will race at next month’s NCAA Championships remains to be seen, as she must meet a testosterone threshold of 10 nmols/L in order to compete. That standard adopted by the NCAA is easier to meet than the 5 nmols/L required of USA Swimming. The NCAA initially indicated it would abide by USA Swimming guidelines but retreated from that stance. The Ivy League has supported Thomas’ participation.

While Thomas posted the top time in the 800 free relay, Henig was right with her. Henig is also a transgender athlete, having transitioned to male. Because he has not taken testosterone, Henig is eligible to compete in the women’s championships and helped Yale finish second in both relays contested on Day One of the Ivy League meet.

Princeton won the opening 200 medley relay in 1:38.66, thanks to the combination of Alexa Pappas, Vivian Wang, Nikki Venema and Christina Bradley.

 Event 1  Women 200 Yard Medley Relay
==================================================================================
  Meet Record: M 1:37.30  2018      Yale
                          H.Vanderwel, C.O'Leary, M.Zimmerman, B.Hindley
  Pool Record: P 1:37.30  2018      Yale
                          H.Vanderwel, C.O'Leary, M.Zimmerman, B.Hindley
   NCAA A Std: A 1:36.40
   NCAA B Std: B 1:37.05
    School                                 Seed     Finals Points 
==================================================================================
  1 Princeton                           1:38.96    1:38.66   64  
     1) Pappas, Alexa FR              2) Wang, Vivian SR              
     3) Venema, Nikki JR              4) Bradley, Christina JR        
                 24.95        53.21 (28.26)
        1:16.25 (23.04)     1:38.66 (22.41)
  2 Yale                                1:37.48    1:38.91   56  
     1) Wagner, Lindsey SO            2) Buckley, Marykate JR         
     3) Pilkinton, Ophelia SO         4) Henig, Iszac JR              
                 25.12        52.83 (27.71)
        1:17.02 (24.19)     1:38.91 (21.89)
  3 Harvard                             1:40.80    1:39.14   54  
     1) Pasadyn, Felicia SR           2) Denisenko, Aleksandra FR     
     3) Carr, Abigail FR              4) Brenner, Mandy FR            
                 25.22        52.97 (27.75)
        1:16.68 (23.71)     1:39.14 (22.46)
  4 Brown                               1:41.71    1:40.22   52  
     1) Reznicek, Jenna FR            2) Willhite, Kellie SO          
     3) Chidley, Nell JR              4) Scott, Samantha SO           
                 24.70        53.39 (28.69)
        1:17.60 (24.21)     1:40.22 (22.62)
  5 Penn                                1:40.31    1:40.33   50  
     1) Kannan, Hannah SR             2) Maizes, Rachel SR            
     3) Chong, Vanessa FR             4) Kaczorowski, Margot JR       
                                  53.43 ( )
        1:17.51 (24.08)     1:40.33 (22.82)
  6 Columbia                            1:42.27    1:42.05   48  
     1) Pruden, Mary SR               2) Walker, Allegra SO           
     3) Wang, Emily SR                4) Arevalo, Isabelle JR         
                 26.29        55.06 (28.77)
        1:19.66 (24.60)     1:42.05 (22.39)
  7 Cornell                             1:44.19    1:43.17   46  
     1) Munoz, Aviva JR               2) Tsai, Sophia FR              
     3) Gruvberger, Anna SO           4) Wongso, Priscilla SO         
                 26.21        55.15 (28.94)
        1:19.92 (24.77)     1:43.17 (23.25)
  8 Dartmouth                           1:46.95    1:44.54   44  
     1) Zhang, Connie JR              2) Zhang, Rachel FR             
     3) Howley, Mary FR               4) Wortzman, Zoe JR             
                 26.36        56.74 (30.38)
        1:21.98 (25.24)     1:44.54 (22.56)

 Event 2  Women 800 Yard Freestyle Relay
==================================================================================
  Meet Record: M 6:59.92  2020      Harvard
                          M. Dahlke, S. Shelton, K. Quist, F. Pasadyn
  Pool Record: P 7:05.06  2018      Harvard
                          M. Dahlke, K. Quist, G. Enoch, M. Popp
   NCAA A Std: A 7:00.86
   NCAA B Std: B 7:05.88
    School                                 Seed     Finals Points 
==================================================================================
  1 Harvard                             7:15.97    7:06.66   64  
     1) Pasadyn, Felicia SR           2) Shelton, Samantha JR         
     3) Bullock, Addie Rose SO        4) Hamlin, Molly FR             
                 24.75        51.47 (51.47)
      1:18.30 (1:18.30)   1:45.31 (1:45.31)
        2:09.54 (24.23)     2:36.51 (51.20)
      3:03.99 (1:18.68)   3:31.47 (1:46.16)
        3:56.48 (25.01)     4:23.95 (52.48)
      4:51.87 (1:20.40)   5:20.62 (1:49.15)
        5:45.29 (24.67)     6:12.29 (51.67)
      6:39.57 (1:18.95)   7:06.66 (1:46.04)
  2 Yale                                7:16.64    7:08.33   56  
     1) Henig, Iszac JR               2) Massey, Alexandra FR         
     3) Jones, Raime JR               4) Moesch, Marlise SR           
                 24.28        50.83 (50.83)
      1:18.08 (1:18.08)   1:44.65 (1:44.65)
        2:09.31 (24.66)     2:37.06 (52.41)
      3:05.11 (1:20.46)   3:33.39 (1:48.74)
        3:57.90 (24.51)     4:25.01 (51.62)
      4:52.90 (1:19.51)   5:20.84 (1:47.45)
        5:46.15 (25.31)     6:13.57 (52.73)
      6:40.72 (1:19.88)   7:08.33 (1:47.49)
  3 Penn                                7:14.50    7:09.91   54  
     1) Thomas, Lia SR                2) Kaczorowski, Margot JR       
     3) Kalandadze, Anna Sofia JR     4) O'Leary, Bridget JR          
                 24.83        51.52 (51.52)
      1:17.98 (1:17.98)   1:44.50 (1:44.50)
        2:09.35 (24.85)     2:36.76 (52.26)
      3:04.98 (1:20.48)                    
            3:58.07 ( )         4:25.69 ( )
            4:53.89 ( )         5:22.70 ( )
        5:47.20 (24.50)     6:14.30 (51.60)
      6:41.74 (1:19.04)   7:09.91 (1:47.21)
  4 Princeton                           7:18.36    7:16.00   52  
     1) Venema, Nikki JR              2) Marquardt, Ellie SO          
     3) Liu, Amelia JR                4) Valdman, Nathalie SO         
                 24.73        51.57 (51.57)
      1:19.12 (1:19.12)   1:46.85 (1:46.85)
        2:11.19 (24.34)     2:38.62 (51.77)
      3:06.77 (1:19.92)   3:35.45 (1:48.60)
        3:59.79 (24.34)     4:27.43 (51.98)
      4:56.14 (1:20.69)   5:25.65 (1:50.20)
        5:50.57 (24.92)     6:18.21 (52.56)
      6:47.02 (1:21.37)   7:16.00 (1:50.35)
  5 Columbia                            7:20.76    7:16.55   50  
     1) Ganihanova, Aziza SO          2) Jubin, Olivia JR             
     3) Martin, Allison FR            4) Breiter, Callie SO           
                 25.01        52.28 (52.28)
      1:20.53 (1:20.53)   1:49.42 (1:49.42)
        2:14.14 (24.72)     2:41.21 (51.79)
      3:09.34 (1:19.92)   3:38.12 (1:48.70)
        4:03.32 (25.20)     4:30.75 (52.63)
      4:58.80 (1:20.68)   5:26.67 (1:48.55)
        5:50.92 (24.25)     6:18.62 (51.95)
      6:47.86 (1:21.19)   7:16.55 (1:49.88)
  6 Dartmouth                           7:36.02    7:20.86   48  
     1) Post, Ashley JR               2) Leko, Mia JR                 
     3) Wiener, Sophie FR             4) Wortzman, Zoe JR             
                 25.12        52.72 (52.72)
      1:20.54 (1:20.54)   1:48.75 (1:48.75)
        2:13.29 (24.54)     2:40.53 (51.78)
      3:08.70 (1:19.95)   3:37.30 (1:48.55)
        4:02.39 (25.09)     4:30.31 (53.01)
      4:59.30 (1:22.00)   5:29.79 (1:52.49)
        5:54.84 (25.05)     6:22.40 (52.61)
      6:51.18 (1:21.39)   7:20.86 (1:51.07)
  7 Brown                               7:29.88    7:21.75   46  
     1) Podurgiel, Anna FR            2) Barrett, Sara FR             
     3) Bilgin, Zehra FR              4) Orange, Audrey JR            
                 24.90        52.31 (52.31)
      1:20.46 (1:20.46)   1:48.85 (1:48.85)
        2:14.08 (25.23)     2:42.08 (53.23)
      3:11.04 (1:22.19)   3:40.07 (1:51.22)
        4:05.13 (25.06)     4:32.97 (52.90)
      5:02.43 (1:22.36)   5:31.84 (1:51.77)
        5:48.17 (16.33)     6:25.26 (53.42)
      6:53.45 (1:21.61)   7:21.75 (1:49.91)
  8 Cornell                             7:33.06    7:27.74   44  
     1) Parker, Melissa JR            2) Syrkin, Alex FR              
     3) Sih, Angelica SO              4) DuPont, Schuyler FR          
                 25.32        52.24 (52.24)
      1:19.86 (1:19.86)   1:50.23 (1:50.23)
        2:13.86 (23.63)     2:41.56 (51.33)
      3:10.40 (1:20.17)   3:39.97 (1:49.74)
        4:05.64 (25.67)     4:34.06 (54.09)
      5:04.02 (1:24.05)   5:34.39 (1:54.42)
        5:59.98 (25.59)     6:28.51 (54.12)
      6:57.91 (1:23.52)   7:27.74 (1:53.35)
 
                     Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 2                      
 
  1. Harvard University                118   2. Princeton University              116
  3. Yale University                   112   4. University of Pennsylvania        104
  5. Brown University                   98   5. Columbia University                98
  7. Dartmouth College                  92   8. Cornell University                 90

26 Comments

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Mel

2 years ago

“Her male puberty advantage”. Come on people. The Emperor has no clothes.

SETH

2 years ago

Congratulations to all the swimmers.

Anonymous

2 years ago

Reply to SETH

Finally a warm comment ???

-1

S.I.

2 years ago

Reply to SETH

…who didn’t cheat.

Billy

2 years ago

So,,,,,, “Lia” goes a 1:41 200 free in November and now goes a 1:44 at the Ivy League Championships. Either he’s out of shape or he’s loafing. I think either he’s loafing or he’s a bad actor looking for some type of sympathy. This entire drama is a disgrace to all hard working female Ivy League swimmers.

Anonymous

2 years ago

Reply to Billy

100! Or trying to ensure that he gets into the NCAA championships to break records there!

Carm

2 years ago

Reply to Anonymous

If Lia Thomas meets the guidelines set out for transgender swimmer, then she has every right to compete! The ignorance of some people is appalling especially when they have no idea of the courage it takes transgender athletes just to come out let alone continue to compete while others are always judging them!

Georgia Jessup

2 years ago

Reply to Billy

Absolutely!

Eddie

2 years ago

Lia is a Man and shouldn’t be allowed to compete against Women Swimmers

Anonymous

2 years ago

This is a total slap in the face to all women! Lia was a decent swimmer for 3 years on the men’s team and than decides to compete on the women’s to break records. All women swimmers to save future girl’s advancement should boycott NCAA and Ivy league championships! Shame on you for allowing this to happen!

Gee

2 years ago

It’s messed up I would be really pissed if I had a daughter competing with a man in a women swimming race. I’m sure and know it’s parents that he’s competing with wanting to say something about it but probably is afraid to speak on it because of the consequences their kids might face. These people know it’s unfair and don’t want to admit to it but it’s getting more and more obvious everyday the truth hurts. It’s like when facts are spoken they take that as a attack. Not trying to be funny but what is this world coming to?

Flapacor

2 years ago

Omg, so Henig is a transgendered male (biological female) and allowed to swim on the women’s relay because “he” hasn’t taken any testosterone and Thomas is a transgendered female (biological male) and “she” is allowed to swim as a woman because everyone is tiptoeing around this issue so as not to get labelled transphobic. It’s all getting ridiculous.

Peggy

2 years ago

Reply to Flapacor

These men can’t compete with the other men because they’re weaker so what do they do make the changes that they need so they can become women swimmers. Sorry but if they still got their private parts they’re not women. It’s absolutely insulting to those poor ladies.

Season

2 years ago

Why are you not as against Henig as you are against Lia?!! Henig is a trans who took a spot on team from a male; Lia is a trans who took a spot on team from a female. Is it not the same?!
Oh to be so shallow.
Lia identifies as a woman and therefore she is a woman; ask the NCAA.
Get rid of the artificial separation of the genders and put the best swimmers in the pool based on time and not gender identity.
So much hypocritical commentary from trans haters and those that don’t want to go stroke for stroke with the best.

-1

Pablo

2 years ago

Reply to Season

Henig isn’t taking a males spot. Henig is on the womens team no mens.

FromEurope

2 years ago

Reply to Season

What a comment. ?

FromEurope

2 years ago

Reply to FromEurope

It was reply to Season.

Kevin

2 years ago

Reply to Season

I just want to point out that the NCAA never said Lia was or wasn’t a woman. That would take a level of bravery the NCAA obviously doesn’t have, one way or another.

Drucker

2 years ago

Reply to Season

Yeah. Why have gender specific competition at all?

Reid

2 years ago

Reply to Season

No one here is hating on the trans community. Everyone is saying the truth, that it is unfair to the biological women who have worked their entire careers for this moment and they have a lesser chance of placing better because Lia Thomas has an unfair advantage. And I believe that it is also unfair that Henig is swimming. He says he’s a man so he should not be able to compete as a women no matter what testosterone he’s taken or notas long as it is legal. Something needs to be changed in the NCAA

Zonk

2 years ago

Reply to Season

“Get rid of the artificial separation of the genders and put the best swimmers in the pool based on time and not gender identity.”

It’s not an “artificial separation.”

At the ’21 Olympics, the slowest time at the Men’s 800m Freestyle would beat the women’s world record by over 10 seconds.

Let that detonate in your head for a second. You could take the fastest female swimmers of all time and none of them would beat the slowest swimmers in the Men’s event. They couldn’t even make the team.

FromEurope

2 years ago

Congrats to Lia ! Excellent !
Good job the others !

Kevin

2 years ago

Reply to FromEurope

Watch the race. She held back and set pace off Henig. The difference in her season best and this split was the difference between 1st and 3rd. She gave (her friend btw) Henig and Henig’s relay 2nd place. How can you congratulate that?

Anonymous

2 years ago

Lia Thomas, a transgender female competing on the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s swimming and diving team, prevailed in the 500-yard freestyle finals at the Ivy League Championships on Thursday, the first of several individual events that Thomas will be competing in over the course of the coming weekend.

Thomas posted an unofficial time of 4 minutes and 37.32 seconds, 7.5 seconds faster than the second-place finisher, Thomas’s teammate Catherine Buroker.

Earlier that day, Thomas finished first in the preliminary race for the same event, earning the first seed going into the finals by a nearly five-and-a-half-second margin in Thomas’s heat. In that race, the swimmer started close to the rest of the competition before easily pulling away as it went on. By the end of the preliminary race, Thomas was more than halfway through the length of the pool before the closest competitor had made her final turn.

More than halfway down the pool…

Kris C

2 years ago

As a former swimmer, I would just stand down if a male got a block next to me. Completely unfair as people deny truth in name of political correctness. Poor girls worked a lifetime to be best female athletes are stripped of their chance by someone with a lifetime of growth in hands, feet, shoulders, quads, back muscles, foot and hand size, heart size… I love all people but this is simply unfair playing field.

Dooya Evenlift

2 years ago

Courage isn’t a metric, nor should it be. If you aren’t comfortable someone shouldn’t be allowed to compete with a clear advantage, then you should encourage them to train in a sport that gives out participation medals and everyone feels good. There are winners, and there are those that don’t. A person with a 10nml testosterone threshold is still significantly higher than any and all females, including top athletes. If you think testoerone doesn’t give someone an advantage when it comes to physical ability, then you are obviously not paying attention to any sport ever. I will also bet money, everyone that doesn’t see a problem is a person that has no actual interest in the sport or any sports. Don’t listen to the mob, listen to the individual. If every professional analyst and women’s coach says she has an unfair advantage, guess what, probably know a thing or two more than a person on the internet, saw the word “trans” and decided to be supportive against the “closed minded” meanie heads.