“Lia Thomas is the Ivy League champion in the 500 free,” Penn Swimming & Diving claims. “Her time of 4:37:32 is a new pool record.”
Thomas used to compete in the men’s team back when he went by his birth name, “Will.” However, after taking on a transgender identity he has been allowed to completely dominate the female competition.
For proof of how absurd this is, one only needs to watch Thursday’s race:
🥇🥈
Lia Thomas is the @IvyLeague champion in the 500 free. Her time of 4:37.32 is a new pool record.
Catherine Buroker finishes in second.#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/ki2SQdxn6Q
— Penn Swimming & Diving (@PennSwimDive) February 17, 2022
Compare Thomas’s time on Thursday with the top championship performances for the men’s 500-yard freestyle: Brennan Novak’s 4:13:34 in 2018, Novak’s 4:14:44 in 2019, and Cole Kuster’s 4:20:19 in 2020.
Thomas is a mediocre male swimmer.
Catherine Buroker — the first of the females to finish — completed Thursday’s swim with a time of 4:44:83. She is the true winner.