lia thomas vs katie ledecky

The very existence of women's sports is tied to the fact that, by biological design, women cannot hold their own while competing with men. In fact, over the last 10 years, she would mostly have come only in 2nd position with her time. Thomas competed for three years on the mens team prior to The key question raised by Lia Thomass swimming success: What is the purpose of womens sports? I try to ignore it as much as I can," Thomas said after race, ESPN reported. Katie Ledecky, the NCAA record-holder in the 500, is simply more gifted than everyone who swam in the finals last Thursday, including Thomas, who fell nine seconds short of Ledeckys 2017 finish. One part of their announcement that particularly stands out to me is the lack of differentiation between the different groups within the transgender community, Draper wrote in a text to me. Various Christian sites. Tonight, Thomas won the 500-yard freestyle event with a time of 4:33.24. Subscribe to Reason Roundup, a wrap up of the last 24 hours of news, delivered fresh each morning. Our coach [Mike Schnur] just really likes winning. I've tried to calculate how much total time I spent swimming or training, and it's in the ballpark of 21,900 hours2 and a half years of my life. | Our softball experts break down why Oklahoma is this good and who could end the OU dynasty in 2024, The Oklahoma dynasty: 53 straight wins, three titles in a row and zero sign of slowing down, OU softball joins list of NCAA title three-peaters, Cydney Sanders, Grace Lyons hit back-to-back HRs for Sooners, Jayda Coleman reaches over wall to make incredible HR robbery. This article was published more than1 year ago. | Because taken to its logical conclusion, biology is unfair, but that doesnt give you the right to exclude better athletes from competition isnt a great argument for including Thomas in the womens division. I don't have the experience of a trans woman. This is what they believe allowed her to earn the trophy in the 500-yard event at the NCAA. The NCAA updated its transgender participation policy back in January to defer to the guidance of each sports governing body. Protesters and supporters were outside the McAuley Aquatic Center on the Georgia Tech campus before the meet. A third group, Concerned Women for America, on Thursday announced that they are filing a Title IX complaint against Penn for "violating Title IX by allowing Thomas to compete on the women's team," according to ESPN. And this, in short, is the crux of difference between Thomass advocates and her critics: Biology is unfair. Yes, and womens sports exist to allay that unfairness.. There should be And that conversation needs to be void of some of the misgendering and dead-naming weve seen so far. Waking up to find out the rules had changed but no one really knew what the new rules are was jarring. By protecting one athlete out of fear of backlash, many other athletes have been denied a real shot at the top spot on the podium. He has flown 23 million miles. One of Drapers biggest fears right now is what sporting organizations will do to fill the vacuum created by the NCAA passing the buck to national governing bodies, like USA Swimming, and the storm of criticism that the NCAA is, in the words of Swimming World Magazine editor-in-chief John Lohn, turning its back on womens sports., I also fear that with this backlash, governing agencies are going to issue a knee-jerk change to the policy that is overly limiting and unfair to transgender athletes, in an attempt to get out of the spotlight, he said. Charles Oliver Hence, Thomas is way off when compared with Ledeckys times. Starting with the 2022-23 academic year, transgender student-athletes will need documented levels at the beginning of their season and a second documentation six months after the first. Her dominance in the pool comes amid a heated debate on whether transgender female athletes should be allowed to compete against biological females. DeSantiss latest appeal to MAGA tops Trump in performative cruelty. How Tall Is Trans Athlete Lia Thomas VS Olympic Swimming Icon Katie Ledecky? Lia Thomas spent a majority of those same hours training with the advantage of greater muscle density and bone mass, a larger. Sure, we might argue, biology is one reason sports are separate, but winning isnt the only purpose of sport; it also teaches teamwork, self-discipline and important social values such as inclusion. The organization said the new policy was effective immediately, but also indicated it would go into effect with the 2022 winter championships in March. In addition, it always gives us an insight into Lias performance as compared to previous winners. Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images. WATCH THIS STORY-After Becoming Snowboarding Queen Chloe Kim Has Been Challenging Iconic Careers Of Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, And Others, Full Spectrum Services LLP 2022 | All Rights Reserved. This is a BETA experience. Does that sound too reductive? Soon after, she returned to compete in the NCAA division as she set a record for the 100-yard freestyle event. Amidst the controversy, Lia Thomas has set quite a few swimming records in the NCAA Theyre publishing pre-transition photos. 6.28.2023 12:01 AM, Eric Boehm Inside The University Of North Dakotas Efforts To Make Disability Awareness And Accessible Design Commonplace On Campus, I Walked Away From Over $2 Million In DEI Contracts. She is the author, with journalist Barbara Kay, of the book, UNSPORTING: How Trans Activism and Science Denial are Destroying Sport, so she is hardly unbiased on this issue. Yet ponder them long enough and you eventually realize that only one of them supports the case its proponents are trying to make. 6.27.2023 5:15 PM, Emma Camp (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Spo. Gambling Problem? at an Ivy League swim meet against Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on January 22, 2022. The comparisons that have been made between transgender hormone therapy and illegal doping practices recently make me scared. Thomas pre-transition time in the 500 free would have obliterated the national womens record, held by Olympic champion Katie Ledecky, who herself has dominated However, this simply does not satisfy the majority of people who have called out the unfairness of the situation. WebPrinceton 221-Cornell 78. ATLANTA, GA MARCH 18: University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas on the starting block for the 200 Freestyle final during the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta Georgia. It was an eloquent response to the tidal wave of negative and demeaning articles about Thomas, including those published by the outlet where he once interned and wrote stories about a trans athlete and his own experience as a diver, under his birth name. In this field, Ms Thomas's time in the 500 yards is the eighth fastest out of 56. Honorees 21-30: Outsports Power 100, the most influential LGBTQ people in sports. She is competing within the rules our advocates and leaders asked for. section: | slug: lia-thomas-penn-swimmer-becomes-first-known-transgender-athlete-to-win-division-i-national-title | sport: other | route: article_single.us | Brooke Forde, who won a silver medal at the Olympics in Tokyo over the summer in the 4x200-meter freestyle, raced for Stanford and finished in fourth with a 4:36.18. An anonymous teammate of Thomas spoke to the website OutKick, claiming most members of the team have expressed displeasure over the situation to their coach, Mike Schnur. OK, so let's deny the existence of basic human biology. Gijy finished his Katie Ledecky won the Women 1500 Meter Final during the 2021 Toyota US Open Championships at the [+] Greensboro Aquatic Center on December 4, 2021 in Greensboro, NC. The bottom line for Draper, he said, is that thus far, trans women athletes like Thomas have followed every rule, and still they are attacked just for doing the best they can. OMAHA, NEBRASKA JUNE 15: Katie Ledecky of the United States reacts after competing in a preliminary heat for the Womens 1500m freestyle during Day Three of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials at CHI Health Center on June 15, 2021 in Omaha, Nebraska. Thomas finished the 500-yard freestyle final just over a second faster than second-place finisher Emma Weyant, while Olympian Erica Sullivan touched the wall Thomas best times swimming as a woman at Penn are about two seconds behind Franklins record in the 200, and about 10 seconds and 56 seconds behind Thomas was about three seconds off Georgia Techs pool record, which was set by Leah Smith of Virginia in 2016 with a mark of 4:30.81. ", a competitive difference in the male and female categories and the disadvantages this presents in elite head-to-head competition," but, it would be "unfair" and "potentially detrimental on schools and student-athletes intending to compete in 2022 NCAA women's swimming championships" to follow the. Oberlin Colleges director of athletics, Natalie Winkelfoos, told me supporting those athletes has been a learning experience. Views from The Posts Editorial Board on current events. Both arguments have obvious merit. has analyzed the 500-yard records of the past 10 years and the best records of the previous season. Honorees 11-20: Outsports Power 100, the most influential LGBTQ people in sports. "I don't necessarily agree with his view on it, but I respect him as a person because he has been such a mentor to me and I respect his right to his view, Draper told me. Their diversity, talent and impact are impressive. Thomas is now the national top seed thus far in two NCAA events and fifth in a third the 1650-yard free making her story the most compelling of any LGBTQ college athlete heading into the winter sports season possibly ever. Many athletes take "trust the process" as a mantra, but there's a sense in collegiate swimming that the process has broken down. He never heard from Thomas, but others took notice. March 22, 2022 10:39 pm EDT. WATCH THIS STORY: Michael Jordans Best Stories From His UNC Days, Full Spectrum Services LLP 2022 | All Rights Reserved. Jacob Gijy is a US Sports and NBA writer at EssentiallySports. Her teammate Anna Kalandadze finished in second place over 38 seconds behind Thomas. In fact, Thomas' times were only slightly behind one of the greatest female swimmers to ever dive into the pool: Katie Ledecky. Thomas set no pool, meet or American records Nowhere in any release from the NCAA in the last 24 hours does the word transgender precede the words female or male. Nonbinary individuals are not mentioned. (Photo by The male/female performance gap appears at puberty in most sports, and quickly becomes so large that most cisgender women would never be able to compete at more elite levels if we werent segregated into our own leagues. In fact, Thomas' times were only slightly behind one of the greatest female swimmers to ever dive into the pool: Katie Ledecky. And its not the side virtually anyone in the LGBTQ community wants controlling the conversation. Penn swimmer Lia Thomas won the women's 500-yard freestyle championship on Thursday to become the first transgender NCAA champion in Division I history. Intersex individuals are not mentioned., Draper talked with me about how daunting its been, coming out as transgender in sports this past year, Especially swimming athletes, because we are so exposed. Post Graduation in Psychology and worked in a hospital for 2 years before his The difference is, trans women take medication to suppress testosterone, and as a trans male, Draper has been taking T for two months as part of his medical transition. All of these need to signal to our athletes that our teams are safe places to be themselves. Trump Can't Decide Whether To Free Drug Dealers or Kill Them, Scammers Stole $200 Billion From Two Federal COVID Aid Programs. Headlines that say shes shattered these conference records are not an exaggeration. With her current record, she would have come first in 2021, when Paige Madden won with a time of 04:34.61. She made all three championship finals (A-finals in swimming parlance), making her a three-time All-American. I appreciate the NCAAs attempt to be inclusive of transgender athletes as a whole, but this approach feels very much like they are attempting to be removed from the blame if something goes wrong, Draper told me. The college senior who was the No. ATLANTA, GA MARCH 17: University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas on the All of which is true, and yet if womens sports didnt exist, would we now create them for the purpose of letting women experience the joys of all-female teams? This is 10 seconds faster than Lia Thomas. Basically, being a straight white cis man is the very minority of this campus., We are very proud of Lucas and everything he has done for our program, shedding light on the experience of being a transgender student-athlete, Head Swimming & Diving Coach Alex de la Pea told me. In the end, there can only be three people on the podium, and who ends up there is about biology and luck, as much as it is about skill and perseverance. via Getty Katie Ledecky vs Ariarne Titmus The 20-year-old Titmus looks to dethrone Ledecky off the perch in Tokyo. Thomas places 8th in 100-yard freestyle final, Thomas first transgender athlete to win D-I title, Lia Thomas controversy surrounds NCAA swimming championships, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The teammate, according to OutKick, said its plausible that Thomas could not only win national championships in womens swimming, but break national womens college records that were set by eventual Olympic gold medalists Missy Franklin and Katie Ledecky. Its time we and the NCAA engage on her performance. On the other hand, Katie Ledecky is a brilliant long-distance swimmer. We've received your submission. Because these rules have changed, will I now be accused of doping because I followed the old rules and have more than my naturally-produced amount of testosterone in my system?. WebAmidst the controversy, Lia Thomas has set quite a few swimming records in the NCAA championship. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. For that matter, the NCAA also should be out front on this, explaining exactly what their trans-inclusion policy is and making it clear that Thomas has met the criteria. But, Franklin kept pace throughout the race and finished the race at atimeof 1:39.10. But of one thing I am fairly certain: Unless and until someone answers this fundamental question, advocates of inclusion will never convince the public that pitting a trans athlete against a cisgender woman is anything like a fair fight. Richa He is 21, majoring in both computer science and theater, and he is part of the Yeomen swimming and diving team. She completed the race in 4:24.06. Lucas Draper is a junior at Oberlin College and Conservatory in Lorain County, Ohio, outside Cleveland. does not offer the power forward, the respect he deserves. Yet heres the thing: Lots of people are noticing. It sounds more like an argument for abolishing womens sports in favor of one, open league. She would still be competitive in the men's events without the testosterone, and that's the kind of point that I was trying to make in my article: Especially in the age groups, there is so much variance between ability that just the concept of gender sometimes doesn't make sense.. Just days after our phone conversation, the NCAA responded to complaints from cisgender athletes, activists and parents that Thomas was winning and setting new womens records. of them even qualify for the elite NCAA Division I championships, let alone compete in the finals (limited to 8 lanes) or stand on the winner's podium (top 3 performers). For our trans athletes, we must continue to educate ourselves and be mindful of our usage of gendered language, facility access, policy impact, and additional support systems, she said. It turns out, Lucas isnt the only out trans student-athlete on campus, but in the interest of privacy, the college declined to name others. Moreover, in 2013 Haley Anderson won with a time of 04:34.66. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. Michael Jordans Best Stories From His UNC Days. As a former NCAA Division I swimmer, I've tried to calculate how much total time I spent swimming or training, and it's in the ballpark of 21,900 hours2 and a half years of my life. The NCAA announced that its policy would become effective in March, starting with the Division I Womens Swimming and Diving Championships. It's just such a complicated issue, Draper told me, when asked about University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, and her success competing as a woman. This successfully put her in first place, followed by Emma Weyant. And her winning time in the NCAA championships was nine seconds slower than Katie Ledecky's record. Indeed. OutKick claims that her times havent been affected by transitioning (she is now considerably slower in each of her events than she was pre-transition). Ledecky and Titmus squared off in an exhilarating race that saw Titmus finishing first, ahead of Ledecky. Theres little question that Thomas has retained some of the many biological advantages conferred by male puberty, such as height, heart and lung capacity, and strength. dominant performance at the Zippy Invitational last weekend, new trans policy dropping all transition requirements, trans-inclusion policy in womens sports to base it on one year of testosterone suppression, want to eliminate that requirement all together, explaining exactly what their trans-inclusion policy is, healthy dialogue about inclusion policies in sports, Honorees 41-50: Outsports Power 100, the most influential LGBTQ people in sports, Honorees 31-40: Outsports Power 100, the most influential LGBTQ people in sports. 6.27.2023 4:29 PM, 2023 Reason Foundation | Mock draft 2.0: Which MCWS standout goes No. Second-placed Manuel finished two seconds behind her with a time of 1:41.45. with inclusive policies dating back to 2018. 3 min read Follow Us The NCAA swimming competitions saw Lia Thomas taking part amidst all the controversy. 3.17.2022 6:23 PM. The Ivy League is not a fast league for swimming, so thats why its particularly ridiculous that we could potentially have an NCAA champion. Faster than all the times Katie Ledecky went in college. While competing among men, Thomas. Tremendous controversy have surrounded Lia Thomas participation in the NCAA. Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images. has completed her schooling at Don Bosco. As many legends competed in the NCAA competitions before, Missy Franklins 200-yard freestyle record is still up there with the best. Second-placed Manuel finished two seconds behind her with a time of 1:41.45. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images). Notably, the World Championships in Gwangju became the turning point for this event. And just try to block out everything else. Tonight, Thomas won the 500-yard freestyle event with a time of 4:33.24, a full two and a half seconds ahead of the second place finisher. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. In swimming you want all round power. Heres Why, 11-year policy of inclusion for transgender student-athletes. So far, in the media and social media, only one side is weighing in on the senior season of Lia Thomas. One point Draper made clear: he has no beef with his former boss, Swimming World editor-in-chief John Lohn, who published the anti-inclusion op-eds by Blade, Hogshead-Makar, and several of his own, using an Olympic-sized abundance of transphobic terms. Official Psych Sheets Live Results Live Video (ESPN3): Swimming / Diving Thursday morning heat sheets Reported by Anne Lepesant. I am still persuadable on this point; we are all learning as we go. decent times, but was far from qualifying for the men's NCAA Division I championships. USA Swimming announced a new set of standards for transitioning athletes. Penns Lia Thomas blasted the number one 200 free time and the second-fastest 500 free time in the nation on Saturday, breaking Penn program records in both events. The NCAA has acknowledged "a competitive difference in the male and female categories and the disadvantages this presents in elite head-to-head competition," but determined it would be "unfair" and "potentially detrimental on schools and student-athletes intending to compete in 2022 NCAA women's swimming championships" to follow the new standards (which Thomas would have failed to meet). Thats unheard of coming from the Ivy League, the teammate said. Thomas is a former male swimmer for Penn. New York Post. The problem there? Yet a debate needs more than one side. Thomas best times swimming as a woman at Penn are about two seconds behind Franklins record in the 200, and about 10 seconds and 56 seconds behind Ledeckys in the 500 and 1,600, respectively. - Thomas placed first in the event. Honorees 91-100: Outsports Power 100, the most influential LGBTQ people in sports. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Amidst the controversy, Lia Thomas has set quite a few swimming records in the NCAA championship. The story of Lia Thomas isnt going away. This means that Thomas would come first that year as well. I report on the fight for transgender equality and other LGBTQ issues. passion for sports compelled him to find his way to sports journalism. The best response to plummeting test scores would be hard to institute, To make sure babies get their bottles, the U.S. needs a new formula, Putins humiliation means new dangers for Russia and the world. Hes also on Twitter. So during the NCAA 500-yard freestyle event, Lia Thomas won the race by setting a time of 4:33.24. They have seized on Thomas growing collection of victories and rewriting of some record books as evidence that trans women dont belong in womens sports, that their participation is unfair.. deck at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 17th, 2022 at the Thomas finished in a blistering four minutes and 33.24 seconds good for 1.75 seconds ahead of Virginia's Emma Weyant, who came in second and just nine Columnist Matt Walsh hosted a speech on Monday at Georgia Tech denouncing Georgia Tech's hosting the upcoming NCAA Women Swim meet that will have a transgender athlete competing for an out-of-state school. Airline Accessibility Civil Rights Set To Advance As FAA Reauthorization Nears. Everyone always does pronouns. Terms Of Use. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino & resort (KS). Katie Ledecky holds the NCAA record with a 4:24.06 at the national championships. While she is quickest amongst the swimmers competing against her, she is still behind the Olympic champion Katie Ledecky by some seconds. This week we at Outsports have been receiving so many completely mis-informed messages on email and DM, and the NCAA coming out strong in support of Thomas eligibility is a much-needed addition to the conversation. My conference championship is a month away, do I need to rush to get all my proverbial chickens in order before then?, I also want to note that if decisions are based on the governing bodies of each sport, swimming and diving are seperate sports, where body composition play different roles, he wrote. "Im just trying to make it not as tough for the next generation," says a basketball superstar on this list, along with executives with a Major League Baseball team and CBS, an NFL player and soccer legends. Thomas also is the top seed in the 200 freestyle scheduled for Friday. McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta Georgia. There are various claims about Thomas inclusion in the womens division, but the gap between the two swimmers shows how Franklin was an incredible swimmer. By protecting one athlete out of fear of backlash, have been denied a real shot at the top spot on the podium, female collegiate swimmers in the U.S., but. Thomas' time was a season best and a little more than 9 seconds off of Every woman in the pool at the NCAA finals won the genetic lottery: Most women simply cant swim that fast, no matter how hard they work. We fully support Lucas and will continue to do all we can to help him through the process.. "By allowing men to compete in women's sports, the NCAA is destroying opportunities for women, making a mockery of its championships, and perpetuating a fraud," DeSantis said on Twitter. "If we dont fight for our community and ourselves, who will?" I confess that that idea makes no sense to me, which is why, on balance, I think womens sports should probably be reserved for cisgender women, or trans women who transitioned before puberty. In that case, it's pure physics that rigs the game for Lia Thomas. Before her transition, Thomas competed at Penn for three years as a male. But the obvious rejoinder is that of course biology isnt fair; it never was, and never can be. The performances she showcased in the 800-meter freestyle event are just absurd. 2023 FOX Television Stations, from FRI 10:00 AM CDT until FRI 9:00 PM CDT, Cleburne County, Randolph County, Thomas was about three seconds off Georgia Techs pool record, conservative blogger Matt Walsh visited the campus, Fulton County DA swears in new members of LGBTQ+ advisory panel, Crews put out fire at Forest Park homeless encampment, Large hole opens on busy Midtown roadway, swallowing SUV, Man shot at southwest Atlanta recreation center, Atlanta Archbishop calls for end to gun violence. Theyre deadnaming her. The win is Thomas' first national championship, but it adds to four Ivy League championships. We can not say anything right now, as we know that both athletes have plenty of capabilities. Outkick. This past weekend, the record-breaking stretch continued, as Thomas set a school record in the 1650-meter freestyle. Richa Goswami is a US Sports writer at EssentiallySports. We at Outsports will be embracing the news that Thomas generates, and the thoughtful conversations that come from it. ATLANTA, GA MARCH 18: University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas on the starting block for the 200 Freestyle final during the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta Georgia. But when Lia Thomas stepped up on the block for what ended up being a gold medal-winning performance, I couldn't help but notice how the competitors in the lanes beside her, who trained just as hard and just as long, looked defeated even before the starter said, "take your mark." 6.28.2023 4:00 AM, Jacob Sullum Some of those staying publicly silent are the very people and organizations who have pushed the NCAA to change its trans-inclusion policy in womens sports to base it on one year of testosterone suppression. Yet ultimately, out of the Because in all honesty, what difference do my current testosterone levels make? Highly unlikely. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: general | pageType: stories | Thomas competed in three individual events: the 500, 200 and 100 freestyle. "The fact that she's able to show up here, despite protesters outside, people shouting and booing her, I think it's a testament to her resiliency.

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