US Swimming Launches New Policy for Transgender Swimmers as Penn Athletes Return to Lia Thomas

USA Swimming announced a new policy for transgender swimmers on Tuesday that outlines detailed medical requirements for transgender women. On the same day, swimmers at the University of Pennsylvania wrote an open letter of support transgender teammates after she faced backlash for setting a school record.

USA Swimming says a panel of three health professionals will evaluate each individual Transgender swimmer who aspired to compete at the elite level and decide whether her pre-transition physical development gave her an unfair advantage over transgender competitors. Her testosterone level must be below 5 nanomoles per liter for three consecutive years or more. The policy applies to swimmers 13 years of age and older who want their race time counted towards a potential record in high-level competitions across the country.

The announcement came as members of the Penn women’s swimming and diving team released a statement in support of their transgender teammates. Lia Thomas, a transgender woman who spent three years competing on the Penn men’s swim team. Anonymous accounts claim that a member of the women’s swim team threw stones at Thomas and told her she shouldn’t compete. Thomas has also become a little obsession with political rights, which has long made banning transgender athletes from high school sports a cause of culture war.

The athletes wrote, “We want to express our full support for Lia in her transition. We value her as a person, a teammate and a friend. Feelings expressed by an anonymous member of our team are not representative of the feelings, values, and opinions of the entire Penn team. ”

Thomas competed with the girls’ team this year and set several records at school. How USA Swimming’s policy will affect her chances of competing remains unclear. Her senior year story isn’t over yet, even though swimming season is almost here. She qualified for the NCAA championship in the 200-yard, 500-yard, and 1,650-yard freestyles.

USA Swimming said in a statement, “The evolution of elite policy acknowledges competitive differences in the men’s and women’s categories and the disadvantages this presents in elite head-to-head competition. This is supported by statistical data which shows that on average the top-ranked female in 2021 will be 536th in all short-term athletics events for men in the country and 326th across all competitions. Men’s long distance races nationwide, including USA Swimming. members.”

Under the new guidelines, swimmers competing at lower levels are given more freedom, competing “in a manner consistent with their gender identity and expression,” according to USA Swimming.

USA Swimming says its policy will remain in place until global swimming regulator FINA issues a policy of its own. Last month, the NCAA said its policies for transgender athletes would be sport-specific, potentially meaning USA Swimming’s policy would govern the convention’s aquatics. University.