Transgender swimmer Leah Thomas will have a chance to win a second US National Championship title Saturday after finishing fourth in the qualifying round for the 100-yard freestyle (91 metres) final in Atlanta, Georgia.
Thus, Thomas, who is competing for the University of Pennsylvania, will have one last chance to add to her record in her controversial participation in the US University Women’s Championships.
Thomas, who has competed on the men’s team in the past, became the first transgender athlete to win a college national title Thursday by winning the 500-yard freestyle event.
A day later, Thomas finished fifth in the 200-yard freestyle (183 metres) final.
On Saturday, Thomas started as the 10th seed in the 100-yard dash and finished second in her morning test with a season best of 47.37 seconds to qualify fourth in the final.
Virginia freshman Gretchen Walsh won the Thomas Heat race with a time of 46.78 seconds, the fastest time in qualifying.
Thomas’ participation in Atlanta has been surrounded by controversy among those who believe she has an unfair physiological advantage, including some of her teammates, while others defend her ability to compete freely as a woman.
On Thursday, Thomas’ competitors staged a protest during the awards ceremony.
Thomas stood on the first step of the podium, with his cup in his arms and a short smile, Emma Wayan, the second seed, broke as far as possible and positioned herself next to Erica Sullivan, third, and Brock Fordem, fourth.
Thomas, 22, received a secret applause from the audience when she was announced as the winner while her competitors were lauded. A small number of protesters protested outside the McCauley Aquatics Center in Atlanta, waving banners bearing messages such as “Support fair sport for women and girls.”
Amid a global debate in sports about the participation of transgender athletes, the US Swimming Authority, USA Swimming, last month released new guidelines that include a stricter threshold for testosterone levels.
The NCAA, the body that governs national college sports, later announced that the rules would not apply to its tournaments, saying they would have “unfair and potentially harmful effects” on athletes preparing for competition.
Lia Thomas began her transition in May 2019 with hormone therapy, as she recounted on the “TheSwimSwam” podcast.
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