{"id":496129,"date":"2022-01-28T14:03:02","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T21:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=496129"},"modified":"2022-01-28T15:33:31","modified_gmt":"2022-01-28T22:33:31","slug":"lia-thomas-timeline-how-the-heated-debate-over-transgender-inclusion-has-evolved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/lia-thomas-timeline-how-the-heated-debate-over-transgender-inclusion-has-evolved\/","title":{"rendered":"Lia Thomas Timeline: How the Heated Debate Over Transgender Inclusion Has Evolved"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lia Thomas Timeline: How the Heated Debate Over Transgender Inclusion Has Evolved<\/strong><\/p>\n

It has been eight weeks since University of Pennsylvania swimmer\u00a0Lia Thomas<\/strong> swam the fastest times in the nation in the women’s 200- and 500-yard freestyle and won the 1650 freestyle by nearly 40 seconds at the Zippy Invitational. Since then, Thomas has become the face of a heated debate regarding whether transgender female athletes should be allowed to participate in women’s athletics. Thomas was eligible to compete in women’s swimming events under a 2010 NCAA rule that granted eligibility for trans women who had completed one year of hormone therapy.<\/p>\n

Since then, Thomas has made few public comments while much of the swimming world and even those outside of it have issued opinions on whether she should be allowed to complete as a female. Comments in support of Thomas’ participation have cited the importance of mental health and inclusion, while opponents of her participation have expressed the belief that her presence would create an unfair playing field for cisgender women<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the NCAA took notice and issued new rules that could put Thomas’ ability to compete at the NCAA Championships in jeopardy, pending the publication of new participation guidelines from USA Swimming and FINA. Thomas will likely be required to submit to a testosterone level test four weeks prior to the championships, but she may be exempted from that rule because of the lateness of the change.<\/p>\n

While new guidelines from USA Swimming and FINA on transgender participation remain pending, here is a recap of the major news regarding Thomas and transgender participation in NCAA swimming<\/a>:<\/p>\n