College of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomas received the ladies’s 500-yard freestyle on the Ivy League Championships Thursday — setting a brand new pool document.
Thomas, who transitioned from male to feminine, grew to become an Ivy League champion with a time of 4:37.32 in the women’s event – the very best time ever recorded at Harvard College’s Blodgett Pool.
Thomas’ opponents saved it shut till roughly the midway mark – when she took a large lead and minimize three seconds off her private greatest, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Penn sophomore Catherine Buroker got here in second, whereas the defending Ivy League champ — Princeton sophomore Ellie Marquardt – completed in third.
Thomas, 22, entered the Ivy League Championships, which run by Saturday, as the highest seed within the 200-yard, 500-yard and 1,650-yard freestyle occasions, the Inquirer reported.
Thomas and Yale College’s Iszac Henig, who’s transitioning from feminine to male whereas competing as a lady, had the highest two instances within the 800-yard freestyle relay Wednesday, however neither squad received the general race. Harvard completed first, with Yale coming in second and Penn in third.
Henig, in the meantime, took dwelling the 50-yard freestyle Thursday, profitable in a time of 21.93 seconds — besting his personal pool document set throughout prelims, ESPN reported.
Thomas, who wasn’t made accessible to the media after her win, has been thrust within the nationwide highlight amid a debate over whether or not transgender athletes needs to be allowed to compete towards organic females in sporting occasions.
Supporters say she has adhered to all eligibility necessities, together with being on hormone remedy for greater than two years.
Nevertheless, 16 of Thomas’ teammates wrote Penn and Ivy League officers searching for for her to be banned from the championships, the Inquirer reported.
NCAA officers then introduced it could not alter the beforehand accredited testosterone threshold for transgender girls to compete, paving the way in which for Thomas to get into the pool.
Thomas is scheduled to swim the 200 freestyle Friday and both the 1,650- or 100-yard freestyle on Saturday, ESPN reported.
Penn senior Andie Myers donned a facemask with a transgender flag Thursday in help of Thomas, she advised ESPN.
“I would like everybody at this meet to know that I help her,” Myers mentioned. “She’s labored for all of this and he or she’s given up a lot to transition and to be authentically herself. I believe it’s actually necessary and I believe it’s actually courageous what she’s doing right now.”
With Publish wires
