Two months after becoming the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship, transgender former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas responded to some of the criticism she has received for competing in an exclusive interview with ESPN and ABC News.
"The biggest misconception, I think, is the reason I transitioned," said Thomas, who said she began hormone therapy in May 2019, after her sophomore year. "People will say, 'Oh, she just transitioned so she would have an advantage, so she could win.' I transitioned to be happy, to be true to myself."
"Trans women competing in women's sports does not threaten women's sports as a whole," she added. "Trans women are a very small minority of all athletes. The NCAA rules regarding trans women competing in women's sports have been around for 10-plus years. And we haven't seen any massive wave of trans women dominating."
At the NCAA swimming and diving championships in March, Thomas won the 500 freestyle, and she placed fifth and eighth, respectively, in the 200 and 100 freestyle.
The full article is at www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/34013007/trans-women-competing-women-sports-does-not-threaten-women-sports.