More fury as transgender swimmer keeps smashing records

A transgender swimmer is continuing to blitz her rivals in the pool, sparking more outrage and questions about level playing fields.

A 22-year-old transgender swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania in America continued her dominant performance this season — setting numerous pool, meet and program records at a three-day event in Ohio on the weekend.

The New York Post reports Lia Thomas blew away her competition in the 500m freestyle preliminaries and finals at the Zippy Invitational at the University of Akron, according to results posted by the school.

In the finals, Thomas notched a winning time of 4:34.06 — good enough for a new Ivy League record.

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The swimmer continued smashing records with a nearly seven-second victory in the 200m freestyle with a time of 1:41.93 — representing the fastest finish in the country, the school said.

Over the weekend, Thomas also set a new program, meet and pool record in the 1500m freestyle. She finished that race in 15:59.71 — more than 38 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, teammate Anna Kalandadze.

These results come after Thomas set blistering times last month, sparking an angry response from some.

Thomas competed as a man before transitioning. Photo: Facebook.

Not everyone believes it’s fair for Thomas to be competing. Photo: Instagram

Outspoken British media commentator Piers Morgan is upset Thomas is able to compete against women, tweeting on Wednesday: “Staggering how few feminist women dare speak out against transgender athletes destroying women’s rights to sporting fairness & equality. They’ve been cowed into silence by the woke trans bullies.

“If Michael Phelps began competing as a transgender woman, all hell would break loose — so why is nothing being done to stop trans athletes like Lia Thomas from destroying women’s sport?

“Men are much faster swimmers because they’re bigger & more powerful than women. That’s the issue with trans women athletes - they have a massive physical advantage over women born with female biological bodies.”

However, others on social media defended Thomas’ right to compete in the pool.

She is eligible to swim and is not breaking any rules by competing, while her testosterone levels are the same as the females she is swimming against.

Before her transition, Thomas competed for two full seasons at the University of Pennsylvania as a man. American college sport rules mandate at least one year of testosterone suppression treatment to be eligible to compete as a woman.

“(Swimming) is a huge part of my life and who I am. I’ve been a swimmer since I was 5 years old,” Thomas told Penn Today last June.

“Being trans has not affected my ability to do this sport and being able to continue is very rewarding.”

This story first appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission