Lia Thomas says he was ‘devastated’ over ban on men in women’s swimming: ‘It has to be the athletes deciding for themselves’

Former NCAA swimmer Lia (William) Thomas said athletes should be able to decide which gender category they compete in.

The former swimmer was infamously ranked 554th in the 200-yard freestyle for men before achieving fifth in the nation against women. Thomas was also the top-ranked swimmer in the country for the women’s category for the 500-yard freestyle, with the distinct advantage of being a man.

Thomas was the keynote speaker at this year’s HiTOPS Trans Youth Forum, a gender activist group aimed at children that describes its mission as “empowering youth with sex education, social support, and affirming communities.”

During an hour-long session, Thomas claimed athletes should self-determine which gender category they compete in, implying that it could be discriminatory if done based on an athlete’s actual biology.

“It has to be the athletes deciding for themselves where they feel most affirmed and most comfortable,” Thomas said, according to the Daily Pennsylvanian. “Having routes that are safe and non-discriminatory, that allow them access to that.”

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 2022, Thomas said he was “devastated” when World Aquatics barred transgender athletes from competing in elite events, including the Olympics.

“I felt so devastated and [felt] grief over losing this access to my sport,” Thomas recalled. “There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to fight this, that this is my sport too, and I’m not just gonna give it up to trans folks.”

Lia Thomas (left) and Riley Gaines (right), March 18, 2022. Gaines became America’s most recognizable advocate for female-only sports. Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

‘I just wanted to step away and be able to transition and be myself.’

While at UPenn, Thomas explained that he felt declaring himself a woman might prevent his continued competitition in college athletics and claimed that he initially did not want to continue in sports.

“I looked up … the NCAA transgender policy [during freshman fall] and knew it might be technically possible. … I didn’t think that I could do it.”

Thomas then said the idea of having to confront that he might not be able to compete as a woman contributed to his gender dysphoria, because he had to “pick one,” either swimming or posing as a female.

“I didn’t want to swim. I just wanted to step away and be able to transition and be myself,” Thomas claimed. “But my love of swimming kept me going. … When I had transitioned, I felt more comfortable, and I said, ‘I can do this. I could do both.'”

The former swimmer said he felt more confusion seeing his name or image on social media as part of news stories, stating that he knew what was happening on “a conceptual level,” but was still confused because “on a personal level,” he felt he was “just another college woman competing.”

The HiTOPS organization called for activism following President Trump’s executive order to keep men out of women’s sports. The group said the president does not support the “science and the lived experiences of trans people” because he allegedly wants to remove access to gender procedures and hormones to minors.

The group called the president cruel, ignorant, and guilty of intentionally marginalizing transgender people.

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