It’s sink or swim for Lia Thomas’s athletic career after USA Swimming issued a new policy on Tuesday.
USA Swimming’s new “Athlete Inclusion, Competitive Equity and Eligibility Policy,” announced Tuesday, requires transgender female athletes to provide evidence that their “physical development” as men did not give them competitive advantages, with a requirement that testosterone fall below 5 nanomoles per liter for at least 36 months, a potential barrier for Thomas, who has only identified as a woman for 32 months.
“USA Swimming has and will continue to champion gender equity and the inclusivity of all cisgender and transgender women and their rights to participate in sport, while also fervently supporting competitive equity at elite levels of competition,” the statement read.
UPENN PARENTS DEMAND NCAA ADDRESS DOMINANCE OF TRANS SWIMMER BREAKING WOMEN’S RECORDS
Athletes in the 13-14 age group or older must meet the eligibility qualifications to compete in categories different than their gender at birth, the policy says.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is also updating its polices so that transgender participation can be determined on a sport-by-sport basis. The policy, effective in March, also requires transgender athletes to document their sport-specific testosterone levels four weeks before their sport’s championship selections, according to a statement.
Thomas, a transgender swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania, has made headlines recently after breaking several records in women’s competitions. Neither the NCAA nor USA Swimming has commented on Thomas’s season, but Thomas has only participated in meetings as part of NCAA’s Division I so far, according to SwimSwam.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
If Thomas were to qualify for the Olympic Trials someday, it would be a USA Swimming meet.
It’s currently unclear whether the USA Swimming policy will be used as the governing basis for all collegiate athletes moving forward.
