The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has nominated trans swim star Lia Thomas for the Woman of the Year award.
Over the last year, Thomas has made headlines around the world for her record-breaking performance in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle races.
As well as setting record times for the NCAA season, Thomas dominated at last year's Ivy League women's championships, winning the 100-yard, 200-yard, and 500-yard freestyle races. She also became the first trans athlete to win an NCAA Division I title.
The recipient of the prize will not be announced until January 2023 (after it has been decided by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics).
But speaking in an interview with Good Morning America, Thomas predicted that even her nomination would be met with backlash.
She pre-emptively responded to her critics: "I don’t need anybody’s permission to be myself. You can’t go halfway and be like, 'I support trans people but only to a certain point.
"If you support trans women and they’ve met all the NCAA requirements, I don’t know if you can say something like that. Trans women are not a threat to women’s sport," the young athlete added.
The comments come as the University of Pennsylvania student's success has been a hot topic in the world of sport. Some critics have claimed she should not be allowed to compete against cisgender women, arguing that having been born biologically male gives her an unfair biological advantage.
But Thomas went on to say that she has actually lost muscle mass since transitioning. After coming out to her friends and family, Thomas began hormone replacement therapy in 2019 in spite of concerns about the impact it would have on her body and her ability to partake in her sport.
In accordance with NCAA policies, Thomas was permitted to join the women's swim team following a year of hormone replacement therapy.
In a show of defiance against any such criticism Thomas and her successes have received, the swimmer was nominated for the NCAA's Woman of the Year award by her college.
NCAA's Woman of the Year award recognizes "female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers."
The athlete also confirmed that she plans to compete at the 2024 Olympics. However, as it stands, Thomas would not be able to take part, because the world governing body for swimming, FINA, has ruled that transgender athletes who did not transition before they hit puberty are no longer eligible to compete.
