Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas completes historic win

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas completed a historic win as she blocked out all the debate about her right to compete.

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas powered to a historic victory in the 500-yard freestyle at the US collegiate championships in Atlanta on Friday in the latest milestone win of her controversial career.

The University of Pennsylvania swimmer became the first transgender athlete to win a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) top tier title after touching the wall in 4mins 33.24secs, more than a second-and-a-half clear of Virginia’s Emma Weyant, who finished in 4:34.99.

Erica Sullivan, a silver medallist in the 1500m at the Tokyo Olympics last year, was third in 4:35.92.

According to Braden Keith, the editor-in-chief of swimming website SwimSwam, parents in attendance clapped Thomas after her win.

“Virginia parents showing class where so many have not today, applauding Lia Thomas on the podium,” Keith tweeted.

“Until we can stop the hate and the vitriol and the transphobia, we can’t have real conversations. Real conversations and real solutions have to start with compassion.”

Lia Thomas won a historic race in Atlanta. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Thomas has dominated US women’s college swimming recently as a student athlete at Penn, where just a few years ago she competed as a male.

Her case has divided opinion, with some, including several teammates, arguing she has an unfair physiological advantage and should be barred from competing, while others say she should be allowed to compete freely as a woman.

Thomas has been allowed to compete this season because she had been taking testosterone suppression treatment for more than a year. She was ruled eligible to compete at this year’s Ivy League championships as eligibility requirements are now left up to individual sports.

Speaking after her victory on Friday, Thomas said she had attempted to mute the controversy surrounding her rise to dominance in college swimming this season.

“I try to ignore it as much as I can, I try to focus on my swimming, what I need to do to get ready for my races and try to block out everything else,” Thomas said after the race at the McAuley Aquatic Centre.

“I didn’t have a whole lot of expectations for this meet. I was just happy to be here, trying to race and compete as best as I could.

“It means the world to be here, to be with two of my best friends and teammates and to be able to compete.”

Thomas had advanced to the final after posting the quickest time in morning preliminaries.

She is also a strong contender in Saturday’s 200 freestyle, where she has the top seeding with a time of 1:41.93. She is seeded 10th in the 100 free at 47.63.