‘Non-surgical’ transgender swimmer misses out on women’s international competition
Transgender swimmer Leah Thomas (25, USA) has lost her case against the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to compete in the women’s international competition.
On July 13 (KST), the Guardian and other foreign media reported that “the CAS ruling means Thomas will not be able to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.”
CAS responded to the news by stating that “Mr. Thomas does not have standing to challenge a policy established by the International Swimming Federation,” and that “Mr. Thomas is not currently a member of USA Swimming. As a result, he is not eligible to compete in any competition organized by the International Swimming Federation.”
“Thomas will only be able to compete in non-elite events until the system is fully overhauled,” the organization said.
In addition to international competitions, Thomas will not be able to compete in USA Swimming’s “elite division” women’s events.
“Only athletes who have undergone gender reassignment surgery before the age of 12 will be eligible to compete in women’s events,” said the International Swimming Federation in June 2022. “This does not mean that we are encouraging people to have surgery before the age of 12. In most countries, it is not possible to have surgery at that age.”
This effectively bans transgender athletes from competing in the women’s game.
Until now, the rules allowed transsexual athletes to compete in the women’s game as long as their testosterone levels remained below the threshold.
Leah Thomas, who was born male and went by the name William Thomas, began hormone therapy to transition to female in 2019.
In 2020, she changed her name and began 메이저토토사이트 competing on the women’s side.
At the time, the NCAA allowed “athletes who have been on androgen suppression therapy for at least one year” to compete on the women’s side of the sport, allowing Leah Thomas to become a female member of the University of Pennsylvania swim team.
Leah Thomas, who was ranked between 400 and 500 in the U.S. in her age group as a male swimmer, won the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships in March 2022.
This sparked criticism, especially from female college athletes.
“It was awful to share a locker room with Leah Thomas, who hadn’t had surgery to remove her male genitalia,” one teammate claimed.
The International Swimming Federation effectively bans transgender athletes from competing in the women’s division, and Thomas hasn’t been able to compete officially since June 2022.
Thomas filed a lawsuit.
“She recognizes that sport seeks to level the playing field and that some regulations for transgender people are appropriate,” CAS said at the time, “but she 토토사이트 believes that some of the provisions are discriminatory and require reform.”
In response, 16 current and former female athletes from U.S. colleges and universities sued the NCAA for allowing transgender athletes who transitioned from male to female to compete in women’s sports.
In the end, CAS sided with the International Swimming Federation, not Thomas.
“We are pleased that our efforts to protect women’s sport have been recognized, and we remain committed to creating an environment in which all athletes have fair and equal opportunities,” said the organization.