Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas out of Olympics after being dealt fatal legal blow
Daily MailMay 30
Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas Loses Legal Case to Compete in Olympics
Above: Lia Thomas looks on after swimming the 500 freestyle during the 2022 Ivy League Womens Swimming and Diving Championships at Blodgett Pool on February 17, 2022 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Image copyright: Kathryn Riley/Contributor/Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
The Facts
Lia Thomas will not be allowed to compete at next month's Paris Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed the American swimmer's request to overturn a ban on transgender athletes from competing in elite women's competitions.
In 2022, World Aquatics, swimming's governing body, banned anyone who hadn't completed their transition by 12 or had undergone "any part of male puberty" from competing in women's races.
The Spin
Right narrative
This case was thrown out not because it concerned the legitimacy of the ban but because Thomas wasn't eligible to dispute it. World Aquatics is committed to promoting inclusivity and celebrating diversity, which is why it introduced a separate category so swimmers can compete without barriers. While one can ignore Thomas' transition out of the pool, it's unfair not to acknowledge the swimmer's physical advantage — in endurance, speed, and lung size even after reduced testosterone levels — inside of it.
Left narrative
This is a sad day for sports. By denying Thomas' request to overturn a ban that further alienates transgender sportspersons, increases invasive testing that hurts all women athletes, and is contrary to the Olympic charter and the World Aquatics constitution, the court has added to the discrimination trans people face and given credence to right-wing claims — which aren't backed by any direct or consistent research — that transgender athletes have an unfair advantage over their cisgender peers.