Lia Thomas of Penn won the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA women's swimming and diving championships. (0:48)
In an exclusive interview with ABC News and ESPN, Lia Thomas, the first trans athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship, spoke out against some of the criticism she received during her time at the University of Pennsylvania.
Thomas, who declined all interview requests during the NCAA swimming and diving championships in Atlanta in March, found herself at the center of a national debate over who gets to compete in women's sports.
The biggest misconception is that I transitioned to be happy.
Thomas joined the women's team after the Ivy League canceled the 2020-21 season because of the COVID-19 epidemic.
She made national headlines when she posted the fastest times in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle in December of 2021. At the NCAA swimming and diving championships in March, Thomas won the 500 freestyle and placed fifth and eighth in the 200 and 100 freestyle.
Her participation and success drew criticism from teammates, competitors and other members of the swimming community, including a former Kentucky swimmer who tied Thomas for fifth place in the 200.
If our priorities are fairness, which it should be in sports, why are we neglecting that for one person?
The name Thomas was invoked in statehouses across the country as legislators introduced bills designed to restrict the ability of athletes to compete in sports. They said that the bills were needed to protect women's sports.
Thomas told the sports network that she does not believe it.
Thomas said that trans women competing in women's sports does not threaten women's sports as a whole. The rules regarding trans women competing in sports have been in place for a long time. We haven't seen a huge wave of trans women dominating.
After her sophomore year, Thomas began hormone therapy. Thomas said that stress on her mental health caused her to medically transition. She thought her swimming career was over.
Prior to Thomas' senior season, the NCAA required trans women to undergo 12 months of hormone therapy to be eligible for competition. She had undergone 30 months of hormone therapy when she began her senior season.
The NCAA announced in January that it would rely on the policies of the national governing bodies to determine eligibility for each sport. The NCAA did not adopt the policy for the swimming and diving championships in 2022, despite USA Swimming's updated policy requiring 36 months of testosterone suppression and evaluation of eligibility for trans women. Compliance with the previous policy was required by the NCAA.
Critics argue that her participation takes opportunities away from cis gender women.
Three-time Olympic swimming gold medalist and founder of Champion Women Nancy Hogshead-Makar said in March that they always look for win-win solutions. Half of the world's population is worth defending. Only then can we talk about how to respect everyone with all their differences and not harm biological women.
At least in swimming, there is no viable option for a middle ground.
If you say you can compete, but you can't score or you're in an extra lane, that's very othering towards trans people.
She said that it was important to remember that trans women are women.
It is the same as a cis woman taking a spot on a travel team or a scholarship. People are competing against each other in athletics. It is not taking away opportunities forcis women. It is still a woman who is getting that scholarship, because trans women are women.
Thomas will attend law school in the fall after graduating from Penn. Civil rights and public interest law will be her focus.
She said that she has become more passionate about fighting for trans rights and trans equality after seeing such attacks on trans rights through legislation.
Thomas paused when asked if she would do it all over again.
I would say yes. I have been able to do the sport that I love as my authentic self.
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