Transgender athlete and former US college champion Lia Thomas has been blocked from participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled against the swimmer.
Paula Scanlan speaks about the “incredibly unfair” advantage of her former teammate Lia Thomas, who was the first trans woman to win an NCAA swimming championship.
“I think just looking at this situation, Lia Thomas was the tallest person on both the men’s and women’s team at the University of Pennsylvania,” Ms Scalan told Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan.
“Just the height difference, the muscle difference, the length and bones, the body shape, and also the hormones that males have that women don’t.
“The University of Pennsylvania has never had an NCAA female champion until Lia Thomas came around.
“I think that really shows that our program went from hardly ever having anyone qualify for the NCAA championship to having someone win an event.”
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Wednesday dismissed Thomas case’ against World Aquatics (formerly the International Swimming Federation) over its transgender policy.
While the swimmer had conceded some measures against transgender women were necessary, Thomas believed parts of the policy were “invalid and illegal”.
A rule introduced in 2022 by World Aquatics prevented anyone who had gone through puberty as a male from participating in competitive women’s swimming.
Transgender women must have completed their gender transition by the age of 12 in order to participate in female races.
Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas (left) has lost a court case against World Aquatics in a bid to compete at the Paris Olympics. Picture: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
While World Aquatics had created a transgender swimming category at the Berlin World Cup last October, the races were ultimately scrapped due to a lack of participants.
Thomas’ legal battle argued World Aquatics’ rule violated the Olympic Charter by excluding people who had gone through male puberty.
The International Olympic Committee has said “athletes are not excluded solely on the basis of their transgender identity” but added “eligibility criteria” were necessary to ensure fairness.
The arbitration court determined Thomas could not challenge the ruling because she was not an active member of USA Swimming or World Aquatics.
Lia Thomas won first place in the NCAA 500 Freestyle finals, beating out Olympic medalists Emma Weyant and Erica Sullivan in 2022. Picture: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The CAS panel found: “The Athlete did not apply for – let alone was granted – the right to participate in ‘Elite Events’ within the meaning of the USA Swimming Policy.”
“She is currently only entitled to compete in USA Swimming events that do not qualify as ‘Elite Events’” it added.
The finding was hailed by World Aquatics as “a major step forward in our efforts to protect women’s sport”.
Thomas became the first transgender athlete to win the United States’ NCAA collegiate title after beating two Olympic silver medalists in 2022 by more than a full second.
The victory sparked controversy and culminated in World Aquatics implementing new rules prohibiting the participation of people who had gone through male puberty.
Laurel Hubbard of New Zealand became the first transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics in Tokyo 2020. Picture: AAP Image/Dean Lewins
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New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard became the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics during the Tokyo Games in 2022.
Hubbard and other transgender athletes will not be eligible for the Paris 2024 games due to rule changes requiring gender transitions to have been completed before the age of 12.