"I think the guidelines they set forward are very good" - Lia Thomas on standards for trans competitors

Lia Thomas is a champion in the 500-yard freestyle event of the NCAA Division I event. But Lia's name has been the center of attention whenever there is debate about trans swimmers.

The swimmer started her career swimming for the men's team at the University of Pennsylvania. Lia then began transitioning using hormone replacement therapy. She started swimming for the women's team in 2021-2022. Lia Thomas was involved in an interaction with Coleman Hodges for the Swimswam podcast in 2021.

In a video posted on December 9, 2021, Lia Thomas spoke with Coleman about several topics. Coleman asked Lia what the standards should look like for trans women competing in female athletics. The swimmer replied:

"Yeah, I do have some thoughts. I don't know if you are familiar, but the IOC recently released a new set of guidelines for inclusion on transgender and intersex athletes. And I think the guidelines they set forward are very good and do a very good job of promoting inclusivity while keeping competitional integrity."

She further continued:

"The IOC guidelines are that anyone, each sport basically has to come up with eligibility criteria for what constitutes an unfair advantage in that given sport. And then everybody is able to compete in the category they are most comfortable with unless there's a proven unfair advantage that they have."

Lia claimed the guidelines by the IOC have done a very good job of including transwomen and not invading anybody's privacy or not making anyone feel uncomfortable. She stated that the guidelines were extremely good.

According to Swimswam, the IOC guidelines state that:

"No athlete should be excluded from competing based on an unverified, alleged or perceived unfair competitive advantage due to their sex variations, physical appearance and/or transgender status."

The guidelines further mentioned that athletes should be allowed to compete, but that unfair advantage has to be regulated.

As far as the NCAA's transgender policy is concerned, a new policy by the NCAA was introduced which came into action from the 2022-23 academic year as per "GlobalSportMatters":

"Trans athletes will need documented [testosterone] levels at the beginning of their season, a second test six months after the first, and a third test four weeks prior to championship selections."

We have to wait and see what the future holds for Lia Thomas as several sports organizations are introducing their own set of policies.

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Lia Thomas opens up about her life since transition

Lia Thomas spoke about her life prior to transition and the present day. The swimmer said:

"It’s been a lot of struggles in the 12 months prior to coming out to everybody, to the sort of initial awkwardness, and the uncertainty to first starting out transitioning. There just seems to be so much to do and things you have to take care of, and it just seems like this mountain. But you get by it day by day, and build confidence each day, and I’m feeling confident and good in my swimming and in all my personal relationships."

She further added that transitioning has helped her to be more confident in all aspects of life where she was struggling before she came out. Despite receiving criticism from some of her co-swimmers, Lia Thomas has received support from other swimmers as well, such as Brooke Forde.