CAMBRIDGE, MA - FEBRUARY 19: University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas reacts after her team wins the 400 yard freestyle relay during the 2022 Ivy League Womens Swimming and Diving Championships at Blodgett Pool on February 19, 2022 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas has lost her legal fight to compete at the upcoming Paris Olympics after a Swiss court upheld a sports governing body’s rules barring her from the women’s events.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Wednesday rejected Thomas’ appeal to overturn World Aquatics’ policy prohibiting athletes who experienced any part of male puberty from competing in the female category.
In its 24-page ruling, the Lausanne-based court said the 25-year-old Thomas is “simply not entitled to engage with eligibility to compete in WA competitions.”
Thomas became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA swimming championship last year after joining the University of Pennsylvania women’s team after three seasons with the men’s team.
Her victory in the 500-yard freestyle reignited a heated debate over whether transgender athletes have an unfair advantage against those who went through typical female puberty.
World Aquatics responded in 2022 by adopting one of the strictest policies against transgender participation in any Olympic sport. The policy was designed to maintain fairness and equal opportunities, according to the governing body.
“This ruling is a major step forward in our efforts to protect women’s sport,” World Aquatics said in a statement hailing the CAS decision.
The policy would have allowed Thomas to enter a proposed new “open” category at events like the Paris Olympics. But that category was scrapped last October after no athletes signed up.
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