Lia Thomas, a contentious NCAA swimmer, is opposing the 2022 World Aquatics restrictions on transgender people who have undergone any stage of male puberty, according to The Telegraph.
According to reports, Thomas hired Canadian law firm Tyr last September to represent her case before Switzerland’s Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which is unrelated to the swimwear manufacturer.
According to her attorney, Carlos Sayao, the 2022 regulations are “discriminatory” and “cause profound damage to transgender women.”
According to Sayao, “Lia has now had the door closed to her in terms of her ability to practice her sport and compete at the highest level.” To make sure that any regulations governing trans women’s participation in sport are fair, correct, and based on human rights and science, she is making the case for herself and other transgender women.
Thomas is currently a part of USA Swimming, according to The Telegraph, so World Aquatics lobbied for CAS to dismiss the case.
Thomas revealed that competing at the Olympics has been one of her long-term goals a few months after winning the NCAA title in the 500-yard freestyle in 2022. World Aquatics (then FINA) decided to establish a separate “open” category for transgender women to compete in the elite women’s categories the following month. However, because there aren’t many trans athletes competing at the elite level, that category has so far failed.
Thomas began her transition in 2019, but according to experts cited by World Aquatics, suppressing testosterone was insufficient to undo the physiological benefits of male puberty.
