{"id":493062,"date":"2021-12-09T15:53:57","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T22:53:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=493062"},"modified":"2021-12-12T06:32:20","modified_gmt":"2021-12-12T13:32:20","slug":"allowing-lia-thomas-to-compete-at-ncaa-championships-would-establish-unfair-setting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/allowing-lia-thomas-to-compete-at-ncaa-championships-would-establish-unfair-setting\/","title":{"rendered":"Allowing Lia Thomas to Compete At NCAA Championships Would Establish Unfair Setting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Allowing Lia Thomas to Compete At NCAA Championships Would Establish Unfair Setting<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The competition is scheduled for March 16-19, 2022. The site is the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center. A tantalizing Virginia-Stanford battle for the team title is expected. <strong>Maggie MacNeil<\/strong> should chase several individual records. Yet, the biggest storyline of the NCAA Women\u2019s Championships could be the presence of <strong>Lia Thomas<\/strong> on the pool deck.<\/p>\n<p>The story is well-known. Thomas is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, and a transgender athlete. She previously competed for three years as a member of the Quakers\u2019 men\u2019s team, earning All-Ivy League accolades. A year ago, the conference, as the COVID-19 pandemic raged, canceled all athletics. Meanwhile, Thomas had transitioned to female, and awaited the opportunity to represent Penn in women\u2019s collegiate competition. That time has now arrived.<\/p>\n<p>In recent weeks, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/lia-thomas-transgender-swimmer-from-penn-swims-fastest-times-in-nation-controversy-brewing\/\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thomas has been firing off a multitude of top times<\/a> \u2013 primarily in the distance-freestyle events. At last weekend\u2019s Zippy Invitational, on the campus of Akron University, Thomas blasted automatic NCAA-qualifying efforts in the 200-yard freestyle (1:41.93) and 500 freestyle (4:34.06). Both times rank No. 1 in the nation, and her 200 free performance was quicker than last year\u2019s gold-medal time at NCAAs.<\/p>\n<p>It is not a surprise that Thomas\u2019 performances and presence on a women\u2019s roster have generated passionate debate. Arguments for and against Thomas\u2019 participation in a women\u2019s sport have been posted on website articles and to social media, the anti-angle the consensus. More, many of the posts have included vile commentary in which Thomas has been subjected to name-calling and insults.<\/p>\n<p>It was just yesterday that I wrote a short column <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/in-debate-over-lia-thomas-there-is-an-urgent-need-for-civil-discourse-and-humanity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">asking for civility<\/a> in regard to the situation involving Thomas. Unequivocally, I stand by that column and the need for commenters \u2013 wherever they leave remarks \u2013 to make their arguments without the use of heinous language or the designed decision to identify Thomas by incorrect pronouns and gender.<\/p>\n<p>Simply because a request for humanity was made led to assumptions of support for Thomas and her involvement in women\u2019s competition. Quite the contrary. Rather, Thomas should not be on the starting blocks in Atlanta in March. If she does race, it would be an indisputably unfair setting. To those she would race in the 200 freestyle. To her opposition in the 500 free. To the women she would battle in the 1650 freestyle.<\/p>\n<p>Before delving deeper into this topic, let\u2019s make something clear. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.org\/about\/resources\/media-center\/news\/ncaa-transgender-policy-background-resources\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NCAA bylaws<\/a>, Thomas has adhered to the requirements set forth for an athlete who has transitioned from male to female. According to the NCAA rulebook: \u201cA trans female treated with testosterone suppression medication may continue to compete on a men\u2019s team but may not compete on a women\u2019s team without changing it to a mixed team status until completing one year of testosterone suppression treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Last month, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced a framework for transgender athletes that will not require athletes to undergo \u201cmedically unnecessary\u201d procedures or treatment. The IOC statement noted: \u201cThis Framework recognizes both the need to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their gender identity or sex variations, can practice sport in a safe, harassment-free environment that recognizes and respects their needs and identities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The IOC\u2019s decision is not legally binding and various sports will decide their own guidelines in regard to transgender athletes. While the NCAA\u2019s rules demand the use of testosterone suppressants for a specific duration, the current requirements are not rigid enough and do not produce an authentic competitive atmosphere. It is obvious that one year is not a sufficient timeframe to offer up a level playing field.<\/p>\n<p>Athletes transitioning from male to female possess the inherent advantage of years of testosterone production and muscle-building. There is also the advantage (in many cases) of larger body frames, hands and feet. All of these traits are beneficial in the sport of swimming. In the case of Thomas, she had nearly 20 years of this testosterone-building advantage, something cisgender women could not attain. Although she took part in the testosterone-suppression process, a look at her performances clearly reflects that she is benefitting from the genetics of her birth sex.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere&#8217;s absolutely no question in my mind that trans women will maintain strength advantages over cis women, even after hormone therapy,\u201d said sports physicist Joanna Harper in an interview with WEBMD Health News. \u201cThat&#8217;s based on my clinical experience, rather than published data, but I would say there&#8217;s zero doubt in my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Thomas routinely producing swift times, the possibility she will break two major records exists. In the 200 freestyle, <strong>Missy<\/strong> <strong>Franklin<\/strong> holds the NCAA and Americans standard at 1:39.10. In the 500 free, <strong>Katie Ledecky\u2019s<\/strong> NCAA and American record sits at 4:24.06. Based on what Thomas has already gone this year, coupled with her performances for Penn in previous years, those marks are certainly in jeopardy.<\/p>\n<p>Since emerging as an international force at the 2012 Olympic Games, where she won the 800-meter freestyle, Ledecky has altered the landscape of distance swimming. Simply, she is an icon who changed what was perceived to be attainable. In the 800 freestyle, no woman has been within nine seconds of Ledecky\u2019s world record. The gap is 18 seconds in the 1500 freestyle. And in the 400 freestyle, only Australian <strong>Ariarne Titmus<\/strong>, who topped Ledecky for gold at last summer\u2019s Olympic Games in Tokyo, has been anywhere close to Ledecky\u2019s global standard.<\/p>\n<p>Now, Thomas is stalking Ledecky\u2019s 500 freestyle record, a chase that reveals the unfairness in her racing against cisgender women. A look at the all-time rankings in the 500 free shows that <strong>Leah Smith<\/strong> is the second-fastest female performer in the event. Yet, she is almost five seconds back of Ledecky. The fact that Thomas could break the record of such a once-in-a-generation athlete confirms the biological advantages she possesses, and their power.<\/p>\n<p>When the NCAA Champs are held, nearly 300 women will race at the venue which served as host of the swimming competition at the 1996 Olympics. During this collegiate season, thousands of women will log countless hours of training in the water and in the weight room. Going a step further, to reach the college ranks as an athlete \u2013 especially Division I \u2013 athletes put in years of work. This effort and dedication should not be denied by advantages out of their control. At the NCAA Championships, a runnerup finish to Thomas in the 500 free by Arizona State\u2019s <strong>Emma Nordin<\/strong> would be unfair. So, too, would a second-place showing to Thomas by Stanford\u2019s <strong>Torri<\/strong> <strong>Huske<\/strong> in the 200 free. Sure, these are hypothetical scenarios, but they are legitimate possibilities.<\/p>\n<p>The NCAA\u2019s minimal standard of testosterone suppressants for the inclusion of trans women in competitive sports has created a situation in which cisgender women are put at a disadvantage. The organization has an obligation to further investigate this topic and institute guidelines which protect the greater good of thousands of athletes.<\/p>\n<p>Lia Thomas deserves the opportunity to continue racing, and to pursue the sport without vicious attacks against her character and identity. Perhaps this chance can be presented at Penn meets, but without the results influencing meet scores or altering record books that are kept to acknowledge the excellence of those who have preceded her. But on a larger scale?<\/p>\n<p>In three months, Atlanta will be the focal point of collegiate swimming, the city playing host to the NCAA Championships. A team title will be awarded. Individual crowns will be collected. And, for the protection of cisgender female athletes and the sport, Lia Thomas should not influence what unfolds.<\/p>\n<p>***************<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Definition of Cisgender:<\/strong> Denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Allowing Lia Thomas to Compete At NCAA Championships Would Establish Unfair Setting The competition is scheduled for March 16-19, 2022. The site is the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center. A tantalizing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7533,"featured_media":493242,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,122077,17],"tags":[41721,25031,25513,129951,25136,251,330,17092,164,51820],"class_list":["post-493062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-americas","category-commentary","tag-emma-nordin","tag-katie-ledecky","tag-leah-smith","tag-lia-thomas","tag-missy-franklin","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-championships","tag-penn","tag-pennsylvania","tag-transgender"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- 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