Lia Thomas loses appeal against rules that bar her from Olympics
- Lia Thomas barred from competing in elite women's races, including Olympics
- World Aquatics bans transgender women post-male puberty from women’s races
- Thomas: The decision is a call for trans women to fight for equal rights
(NewsNation) — Transgender American swimmer Lia Thomas’ dreams of competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics ended after an international court rejected her appeal against rule changes by the world swimming’s governing body.
Why did the court reject Thomas’ case?
The Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed Thomas’ request for arbitration with the World Aquatics governing body.
The World Aquatics governing body added a new gender inclusion policy in 2022, banning biological male athletes from competing in women’s elite races unless they transitioned by the age of 12 or before experiencing male puberty. It also created an “open” category for transgender athletes.
Thomas swam for the University of Pennsylvania and won an NCAA title in meets that are outside the World Aquatics competitive system, in which she was not registered.
She asked CAS to overturn the rules, but the court denied her request, ruling that she lacked the standing to challenge the policy due to swimming in meets outside of the world’s competitive aquatics system.
Decision is ‘deeply disappointing’: Thomas
Thomas had argued that the World Aquatics’ gender inclusion policy was invalid, unlawful and discriminatory.
In a statement provided by her legal team, she called the CAS decision “deeply disappointing.”
“Banket bans preventing trans women from competing are discriminatory and deprive us of valuable athletic opportunities that are central to our identities. The CAS decision should be seen as a call to action to all trans women athletes to continue to fight for our dignity and human rights,” she said.
Meanwhile, World Aquatics hailed the ruling as “a major step forward in our efforts to protect women’s sport.”
“World Aquatics is dedicated to fostering an environment that promotes fairness, respect, and equal opportunities for athletes of all genders and we reaffirm this pledge.”
Who is Lia Thomas?
Thomas gained national recognition after she won the 2022 National Collegiate Athletics Association championship in the 500 freestyle and was named an All-American in three of the women’s swimming and diving championships.
She’s the first known male-born athlete to win an NCAA Division I women’s title.
Thomas competed at the University of Pennsylvania in men’s sports three years before the 2022 title win.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
