Will Thomas: Transgender Swimmer Shattering Records in Female Competition

The New York Times recently reported that “since 2019, nine states — all controlled by Republican lawmakers — have enacted legislation to ban or limit athletic participation by transgender students.” Despite such claims, American legislators are not banning transgender-identifying athletes from competing in sports. What they are trying to do is preserve single-sex teams. If, in this endeavor, the sex a person identifies as is considered irrelevant, it is only because the sex a person identifies as has no bearing on a person’s actual sex.

Take the recent case of Will Thomas, a swimmer for the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s team between 2016 and 2019. Thomas took a break from swimming during the pandemic and, upon return, adopted a transgender name and identity, Lia. Last week, Lia Thomas made headlines for setting new female records in the 200-meter and 500-meter freestyle event during a swim meet with Cornell and Princeton. Sports website OutKick estimates that Thomas’s times — 1:43:47 and 4:35:06, respectively — would have earned Thomas second and third place in the NCAA Women’s Championships. Just one problem, if we dare mention it — Thomas isn’t a woman.

About the Author

Madeleine Kearns

Madeleine Kearns is a former staff writer at National Review.

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The New York Times recently reported that “since 2019, nine states — all controlled by Republican lawmakers — have enacted legislation to ban or limit athletic participation by transgender students.” Despite such claims, American legislators are not banning transgender-identifying athletes from competing in sports. What they are trying to do is preserve single-sex teams. If, in this endeavor, the sex a person identifies as is considered irrelevant, it is only because the sex a person identifies as has no bearing on a person’s actual sex.

Take the recent case of Will Thomas, a swimmer for the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s team between 2016 and 2019. Thomas took a break from swimming during the pandemic and, upon return, adopted a transgender name and identity, Lia. Last week, Lia Thomas made headlines for setting new female records in the 200-meter and 500-meter freestyle event during a swim meet with Cornell and Princeton. Sports website OutKick estimates that Thomas’s times — 1:43:47 and 4:35:06, respectively — would have earned Thomas second and third place in the NCAA Women’s Championships. Just one problem, if we dare mention it — Thomas isn’t a woman.