Lia Thomas

Lia Catherine Thomas (born May 1999)^[2] is an American swimmer. He was a student at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship, having won the women's 500-yard freestyle event in 2022. During his swimming career, Thomas has been part of the public debate about transgender women in women's sports.^[3][4][5]

Lia Thomas
Thomas in 2022
Born	May 1999 (age 26)
Education	University of Pennsylvania (BA)
Known for	First openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship
Sports career
Personal information
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1]
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle sprint Distance
College team	University of Pennsylvania

Legal challenge

In January 2024, Thomas opened a legal challenge to the World Aquatics gender inclusion policy. The policy was introduced in 2022, which allows trans women to compete in the women's category as long as any male puberty was stopped by age 12 or Tanner Stage 2. Thomas' challenge argued that this policy is discriminatory.^[6][7] In June 2024, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Thomas did not have standing to challenge the policy, meaning he wouldn't be allowed to compete.^[8][9]