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Erica Sullivan (left) says she's "proud to support trans athletes like Lia Thomas."
Erica Sullivan (left) says she's "proud to support trans athletes like Lia Thomas."AP Photo/Matthias Schrader; Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
  • Lia Thomas is the first trans athlete to win a national title in college sports.

  • Sullivan placed third in the NCAA event and voiced her support for Thomas.

  • All athletes deserve to be respected and included, Sullivan wrote.

Lia Thomas, the newly anointed national champion swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania, has found herself at the center of the debate over participation in women's sports.

The 22-year-old senior bested two Olympic silver medalists to win the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. The result has been called unfair due to Thomas being assigned male at birth.

The Texas Longhorns freshman who touched the wall after the controversial swimmer in Thursday night's final is one of the notable voices in the chorus of individuals supporting Thomas and other trans athletes.

Swimmer Lia Thomas on the podium after winning the 500 yard race at the 2022 NCAA Championships.
Thomas (left) and Sullivan, wearing a cowboy hat, stand on the podium after the 500-yard race at the 2022 NCAA Championships.Justin Casterline/Getty Images

Sullivan wrote an op-ed for Newsweek explaining why she is proud to support trans athletes like Lia Thomas.

All athletes deserve to be respected and included, exactly as we are, Sullivan wrote.

Sullivan, who stood on the 1,500-meter freestyle podium alongside swimming icon Katie Ledecky at the Tokyo Olympics, noted that she was grateful that she came out as gay.

Sullivan (left) and Katie Ledecky celebrate their 1500-meter freestyle finishes at the Tokyo Olympics.
Sullivan (left) and Katie Ledecky celebrate their 1500-meter freestyle finishes at the Tokyo Olympics.Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

She doesn't want to see people denied the benefits of sports participation based on who they are.

Lia Thomas has been unfairly targeted for being who she is, a trans woman, Sullivan wrote. Lia doesn't win every time.

She said that she deserved to be celebrated for her hard-won success, not labeled a cheater simply because of her identity.

Sullivan said that with many pressing crises emerging across the globe, time should be spent finding solutions to serious problems, rather than debating her fellow swimmer's fundamental rights.

Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, swims for the University of Pennsylvania at an Ivy League swim meet against Harvard University in Cambridge
Thomas.Getty/Joseph Prezioso

She claims that Thomas and other trans women are not a threat to women's sports.

Sullivan said that she knows what the real threats to women's sports are: sexual abuse and harassment, pay and resources, and a lack of women in leadership.

Women's sports are stronger when all women are free to be who they are.

Lia Thomas of the Pennsylvania Quakers after winning the 500 meter freestyle event during a tri-meet against the Yale Bulldogs and the Dartmouth Big Green at Sheerr Pool on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania
Thomas.Getty/Hunter Martin

Thomas has two more events left on her schedule. She will compete in the 200 meter freestyle event on Friday and the 100 meter freestyle on Saturday. She won the 500-meter freestyle in the Ivy League.

Sullivan only has one event left in her season. She will swim the 1,650-yard freestyle on Saturday in a race that is comparable in length to her Olympic medal event.

The original article can be found on Insider.

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