What happened to Lia Thomas? Know if the first transgender NCAA swimming champion is still competing professionally

Trans woman Lia Thomas has recently retired from competitive swimming following constant debate on transgender inclusivity. The 23-year-old University of Pennsylvania swimmer has announced her withdrawal from the sport, explaining that debates on gender and competition intengrity in women’s sports exhausted her.

Swimmer Lia Thomas came to the limelight in 2021 when she won the women’s 200 and 500-yard freestyle and the 1650 freestyle at the Zippy Invitational. Since then, she has become a part of the public debate on whether transgender athletes should be included in women’s sports.

The topic intensified in 2022 when she became the first openly trans athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship. It sparked debates on transgender athletes having a strength advantage over female swimmers in the women’s categories. Being the center of the debate for so long compelled Lia Thomas to withdraw from the sport entirely.

The swimmer told 24/7 News USA about her thoughts on retiring.

“The waters have been turbulent, not due to the physical demands but the constant battle to seek acceptance and fairness in a sport I adore. No athlete should feel isolated or singled out for their identity rather than recognized for their achievements,” stated Thomas.

Initially, Thomas competed in the men's team at the University of Pennsylvania in 2017. Her timing in the 1,000-yard freestyle ranked as the sixth-fastest national men's time. Between 2018 and 2019, she finished second in the men's 500, 1,000, and 1,650-yard freestyle at the Ivy League championships. Moreover, she was the sixth best among UPenn men's team members in the 200 free.

Thomas began her transition journey in 2019 when she came out as a trans woman at her university. From 2019 to 2020, she underwent hormone therapy. By 2021, she had met the NCAA hormone therapy requirements to swim on the women's team.

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Lia Thomas was accused of harassment in 2022

Thomas at 2022 Ivy League Womens Swimming and Diving Championships

In 2022, Lia Thomas represented UPen in the NCAA’s swimming championship. She competed in the 200m freestyle against University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines.

In that championship, Thomas was assigned the girls’ locker room. When Gaines and her teammates got to know about it, they felt uncomfortable. However, they were ultimately made to use the same changing room as Thomas.

Later on, the girls team, especially Riley Gaines, accused Thomas of harassing them by exposing her male genitalia. Since then, the 23-year-old Kentucky swimmer has constantly drawn the government’s attention toward women’s security by condemning her experience with Lia Thomas.