‘The father of a UPenn swimmer says his daughter and ‘a good number’ of teammates are furious and ‘crying on the pool deck’ because feel they can no longer compete fairly with trans swimmer Lia Thomas on their team.
The team has been told it must continue to compete against biological men in the future, as the sport’s national body ruled non-elite trans athletes must feel included.
The distraught team members are reportedly reluctant to make any public comment regarding Thomas’ involvement in the club for fear they may be labelled ‘transphobic’.
Speaking anonymously to Fox, the concerned father of a team member went on to say that his daughter had ‘’given this sport everything she has, and she feels like some of its been taken away’’.
According to www.themail.com, Thomas, 22, is a male to female transgender swimmer who came under fire for breaking all the female-only team’s swimming records.
An anonymous teammate said, in a bid to redeem some dignity, Thomas had been ‘’ plotting to lose to a trans Yale swimmer in early January to ‘prove that a woman can beat her’’. (themail.com).
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The rival swimmer in question, Iszac Henig, is in the process of transitioning from female to male, but is yet to receive any hormone treatment and so is still able to compete in women’s races.
Despite the distress the situation has evidently caused Upenn’s female swimmers, the sport’s national governing body USA swimming announced on Thursday that it will continue to allow biological men to complete in ‘non-elite’ women’s competitions if it is consistent with their gender identity:
‘’USA Swimming firmly believes in inclusivity and the opportunity for all athletes to experience the sport of swimming in a manner consistent with their gender identity and expression’’.
The organization went on to say that it had referred the matter of allowing trans people to compete in elite events with the sports international body FINA, which has not yet announced its position on the matter.
This is the latest in a long string of similar travesties involving trans athletes competing in women’s sport.
New Zealand male to female trans weightlifter Laurel Hubbard made history as she was the first trans athlete to ever compete in the Olympics, having been selected for the Tokyo 2021 games.
Transgender cyclist Rachel McKinnon from Canada also whipped up controversy after she snatched a gold medal at a Master’s competition in Manchester, England.
Considering the fact that women’s rights are now at the forefront of the woke agenda, rulings such as this will no doubt present a massive blow to the morale of female athletes.
While there is no official ruling as yet regarding the participation of biological men in elite swimming competitions, it poses the question as to how many women will qualify for such events at all if they are forced to compete against men.