WASHINGTON, D.C. Last night, the NCAA D1 Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships began in Atlanta, Georgia. XY swimmer Lia Thomas cruised to victory in the women’s 200 yard freestyle, beating out Olympic silver medalist Emma Weyant. 

Independent Women’s Forum would like to congratulate Emma for being the true female winner of the race.

Thomas, who competed for three years on the University of Pennsylvania Men’s Team  as Will Thomas before switching to the Women’s Team this year as Lia, is the top seed in both the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle races.

Jennifer C. Braceras, director of Independent Women’s Law Center, said: 

“Lia has clear male athletic advantages  – advantages that testosterone suppression cannot erase and that female athletes can’t possibly attain, no matter how hard they train. This isn’t fair, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association knows it.

“Shame on the NCAA for  allowing XY athletes to compete in women’s championships.” 

Read Independent Women’s Law Center’s full report on the threat to women’s sports HERE.

This week, Independent Women’s Forum released a new film featuring the story of Margaret*, the mother of an Ivy League swimmer forced to compete against Lia Thomas — a transgender athlete on the University of Pennsylvania Women’s Swim Team who has broken numerous female legacy records. Her story is part of the Female Athlete Stories campaign, launched by IWF in 2021. To learn more about Female Athlete Stories and to watch the full video, visit: iwf.org/savefemalesports

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