Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas qualifies as top seed at NCAA women’s championships

Transgender athlete Lia Thomas is slated to compete in three races at the NCAA Division I women’s swimming championships, placing the male-born swimmer in a position to make history and challenge records held by a trio of female Olympic greats.

The University of Pennsylvania senior was ranked as the top seed in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle, and the 10th seed in the 100 freestyle, on the “psych sheet” released Wednesday by the NCAA ahead of the meet in Atlanta from March 16-19.

The NCAA records in those events are held by Simone Manuel (100); Missy Franklin (200), and Katie Ledecky (500). All three were also gold medalists at the Olympics.

Their winning NCAA times are faster than the personal bests posted this season by Thomas. Even if Thomas doesn’t break those records, however, the Penn freestyler could still make collegiate sports history by winning one event.

No male-born openly transgender athlete has ever won an NCAA Division I women’s title. 

In 2019, CeCe Telfer took first in Division II 400m hurdles, becoming the first openly transgender competitor to capture an NCAA crown after transitioning from male to female.

Like Thomas, Telfer was a solid but unheralded contender on the men’s side before transitioning, fueling the argument that male-born athletes have an unfair biological advantage over their female competition even with hormone suppression.

Thomas was triumphant at last month’s Ivy League women’s championships, streaking to victory in three races and taking the coveted high-point swimmer crown after setting numerous pool, meet and program records in her first season on the female team.

“During the season she has set program records in the 100 free (47.63), 200 free (1:41.93), 500 free (4:34.06), 1,000 free (9:35.96) and the 1,650 free (15:59.71),” Penn said in a press release Wednesday. “She was the Ivy League champion in the 100 free, 200 free and 500 free and she was also part of Penn’s 400 free relay that won an Ancient Eight title with a program record time of 3:17.80.”

Still unclear is whether Thomas has met the NCAA’s newly instated testosterone requirements for transgender athletes.

The NCAA reacted to the outcry over Thomas by deferring to USA Swimming to set standards for transgender eligibility, but when USA Swimming issued strict criteria Feb. 1 that would have excluded Thomas, the NCAA decided it would be unfair to make a mid-season rule change.

Instead, the NCAA announced Feb. 10 that transgender athletes would have to document a one-time serum testosterone level below 10 nanomoles per liter for the 2022 women’s swimming championships.

That standard is still tougher than the previous NCAA rule of one year of testosterone suppression, which Thomas has met. The deadline for submitting results under the updated policy was Feb. 21, but the NCAA declined to say whether Thomas was cleared, citing student privacy.

“Individual student-athlete information provided to the NCAA in support of eligibility assessments and determinations is generally considered confidential,” said NCAA spokesperson Michelle Hosick in an email. 

The International Olympic Committee recommended the 10 nmol/L standard in its 2015 guidance on transgender eligibility. New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard was able to meet that threshold for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first openly transgender athlete to compete in the games.

Critics argue that 10 nmol/L is still five times higher than the average female testosterone range of 0.12 to 1.79 nmol/L, but within the male spectrum of 7.7 to 29.4 nmol/L, the figures cited by international track-and-field governing body World Athletics.

The Mount Sinai medical school lists a higher range, saying that average female testosterone falls between 0.5 and 2.4 nmol/L, and male testosterone between 10 and 35 nmol/L.

“Whether Thomas produced that requirement is unknown, as the NCAA declined to comment, even to the simple question of whether Thomas will be allowed to compete,” said Swimming World in a Tuesday editorial. “Yet, with her name on the psych sheets, it appears Thomas will be eligible to race in Atlanta.”

The NCAA records in the three events versus Thomas’s best times are:

·       100 freestyle: 45.56 seconds. Set by Manuel in 2017. Thomas’s best time: 47.63;

·       200 freestyle: 1:39.10. Set by Franklin in 2015. Thomas’s best time: 1:41.93;

·       500 freestyle: 4.24.06. Set by Ledecky in 2017. Thomas’s best time: 4:34.06.