A 22-year-old transgender swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania continued her dominant performance this season — setting numerous pool, meet and program records at a three-day event in Ohio last weekend.
Lia Thomas blew away her competition Friday night in the 500-yard freestyle preliminaries and finals at the Zippy Invitational at the University of Akron, according to results posted by the school.
In the finals, Thomas notched a winning time of 4:34.06 — good enough for a new Ivy League record.
The swimmer continued smashing records on Saturday with a nearly 7-second victory in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:41.93 — representing the fastest finish in the country, the school said.
Over the weekend, Thomas also set a new program, meet and pool record in the 1650-yard freestyle. She finished that race in 15:59.71 — more than 38 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, teammate Anna Kalandadze.
Before her transition, Thomas competed for two full seasons at Penn as a man. NCAA rules mandate at least one year of testosterone suppression treatment to be eligible to compete as a woman.
“(Swimming) is a huge part of my life and who I am. I’ve been a swimmer since I was 5 years old,” Thomas told Penn Today last June.
“Being trans has not affected my ability to do this sport and being able to continue is very rewarding.”
