The NCAA cleared the way Thursday for Lia Thomas to compete in Division I swimming championships, announcing that transgender athletes will not be required this year to meet the tighter eligibility standards set earlier this month by USA Swimming.
“There will be no changes to the NCAA’s previously approved testosterone threshold for transgender women to compete at the 2022 women’s swimming and diving championships,” the NCAA said in a statement.
The decision, recommended by the NCAA Committee on Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports’ administrative subcommittee, came with the NCAA struggling to balance transgender inclusion in women’s sports versus fairness for female competitors.
The NCAA said last month that it would defer to national sports federations on eligibility standards for transgender competitors amid the uproar over Thomas, a University of Pennsylvania senior who has smashed women’s freestyle records after competing for three years on the men’s team.
USA Swimming responded Feb. 2 by issuing tougher standards under which male-to-female swimmers would need to keep their testosterone levels under 5 nanomoles/Liter for at least 36 months before elite competition, a standard that Thomas would be unable to meet.
In its statement, the NCAA said the subcommittee “discussed the previously approved NCAA testosterone threshold (10 nmol/L) on Monday after USA Swimming updated its policy last week.”
The NCAA had required male-born athletes to undergo testosterone suppression for at least a year before competing on the women’s side.
“The subcommittee decided implementing additional changes at this time could have unfair and potentially detrimental impacts on schools and student-athletes intending to compete in 2022 NCAA women’s swimming championships,” said the NCAA.
The Division I swimming and diving championships are scheduled for March 16-19 in Atlanta.
The 22-year-old Thomas holds some of the nation’s top times this year in the 200-, 500- and 1,650-yard women’s freestyle events, fueling speculation that she could make a run at collegiate records held by Olympic greats Katie Ledecky and Missy Franklin.
The NCAA’s decision came the same day that Athlete Ally, an LGBTQ advocacy group, released an open letter signed by more than 300 collegiate athletes urging the NCAA not to adopt the USA Swimming standard before the finals.
BREAKING: We are proud to join @sb_pinkmantaray and 300+ NCAA, Team USA and Olympic swimmers in calling on the NCAA to support Lia Thomas + all trans and nonbinary athletes in swimming. Thank you @SInow @jmkliegman for covering. 🏊🏳️⚧️ https://t.co/S6yRNUm0UE pic.twitter.com/wMWGA7DBRQ
— Athlete Ally (@AthleteAlly) February 10, 2022
“With this letter, we express our support for Lia Thomas, and all transgender college athletes, who deserve to be able to participate in safe and welcoming athletic environments,” said the letter posted Thursday. “We urge you to not allow political pressure to compromise the safety and wellbeing of college athletes everywhere.”
Other coaches and swimmers, including some anonymous teammates at Penn, have blasted the NCAA for allowing male-born athletes on women’s teams, arguing that they have numerous unfair physical advantages.
The Ivy League had previously announced that Thomas would be eligible to compete in the league’s championships next week.
The NCAA said that “USA Swimming’s new policy will be part of the subcommittee’s future analysis when recommending additional updates to eligibility requirements for Phase Two (2022-23 academic year) and Phase Three (2023-24 academic year).”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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