Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer, is asking the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn a rule that would otherwise prevent her from competing in women’s races at prestigious competitions, the Swiss-based court announced on Friday.
Thomas has argued that World Aquatics’ sex addition policy is biased. Thomas is the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship.
In 2022, the federation proposed the establishment of “open category” events for transgender competition while effectively forbidding them from competing in men’s or women’s races at prestigious events like the Olympic Games or world championships.
According to CAS, “Ms. Thomas accepts that fair competition is a legitimate sporting goal and that some rules of transgender girls in swimming are appropriate.” Ms. Thomas argues that the Challenged Provisions are irrelevant and immoral, violating the Olympic Charter, the World Aquatics Constitution, and European laws, including the European Convention on Human Rights and the Convention on the Abolition of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Thomas’ attorney, who was identified in media reports as representing her, did not respond immediately to a message from USA TODAY Sports requesting comment.
In a statement to USA TODAY Sports, World Aquatics said that its policy, which was adopted in June 2022, had been “rigorously developed on the basis of advice from leading medical and legal experts and in careful consultation with athletes.”
The international federation stated that “World Aquatics remains fully committed to protecting women’s sport and remains confident that its gender inclusion policy represents a fair approach.”
According to CAS, Thomas’ case has been ongoing since September. Until Friday, when American media outlets first reported on the case and the parties gave CAS permission to reveal it, it had been kept private.
Before the U.S. Olympic trials in June and the 2024 Paris Olympics, which begin in late July, it is unlikely that the CAS will act on the matter because no hearing date has been set.
At the 2022 NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships, Thomas, 25, won the 500-yard freestyle competition while a student at the University of Pennsylvania. A few months later, she told ESPN and ABC News that she was transitioning from competing in the pool to being content.
In a televised interview, Thomas told the media that transgender females participating in women’s sports does not endanger women’s sports in general. A very small number of athletes are transgender girls. The NCAA has been enforcing its rules regarding transgender females participating in women’s sports for more than ten years. Additionally, there hasn’t been a significant wave of trans women dominating.
The CAS’s ruling in the Thomas case may have an impact on other sports that have imposed restrictions on transgender competitions, such as cycling and track and field.
Contributor: The Associated Press.
Tom Schad can be reached at [email protected] or via social media.
