Sport2 min(s) read
Published 15:54 11 Dec 2021 GMT
A 22-year-old transgender swimmer, who broke two US records in the sport last weekend, has explained why she doesn't have an "unfair advantage" over her cisgender opponents.
In her first interview since her history-making feats, Lia Thomas from Austin, Texas, defended the International Olympic Committee's latest guidelines allowing transgender athletes to compete in categories that align with their gender as opposed to their sex.
The young athlete participated in the Zippy Invitational in Ohio where she broke two records in the 200m and 500m freestyles. The University of Pennsylvania also confirmed that she had finished "best in the country" at those races.
Now, in an interview with SwimSwam, Lia has explained why she is eligible to compete in swim tournaments alongside cisgender women.
"I've experienced a lot of muscle loss and strength loss," she explained to SwimSwam about how her body has changed following her transition.
"[Swimming has] been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. Pre-transition there was a lot of uncertainty about my future in swimming and whether or not I'd be able to keep swimming at all and so I'm just thrilled to be able to continue to swim.
"I love to compete and I just love to see how fast I can go. It's sort of an ongoing evolution of what I think I can go based on how my training sort of progresses and evolves."
Lia previously took part in the men's division until her transition in 2019 and since then has been taking hormone blockers.
Speaking on the IOC's guidelines, she said: "I think the guidelines they set forward are very good and do a very good job of promoting inclusivity while keeping competitional integrity going. Each sport basically has to come up with eligibility criteria for what constitutes an unfair advantage in that sport."
She added: "Everybody is able to compete in the category they're most comfortable with unless there's a proven unfair advantage that they have."
Lia also shared that she feels "more confident" since her transition and that her team has been "unbelievably supportive" of her.
