Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, a biological male who identifies as a woman, has been blocked from participating in the Olympics after losing a lawsuit that would have forced the issue.
Thomas, 25, had asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn the ban on men racing against women so that he would be eligible for the games.
According to a report from USA Today, "In its ruling, which was obtained by USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday, the panel of arbitrators essentially determined that Thomas did not have standing to appeal the policy created by swimming's international federation, World Aquatics, because that policy does not yet apply to her. The CAS panel found that 'for the time being' she is not eligible to compete in elite competitions through World Aquatics or USA Swimming."
The Daily Mail reports:World Aquatics changed its policies so that transgender women can only compete in women's races if they have completed their transition by the age of 12.
Thomas argued those rules should be declared 'invalid and unlawful', and broke the Olympic charter and the World Aquatics convention.
In a decision handed down at the court of arbitration for sport, they concluded that Thomas wasn't 'entitled to engage with eligibility to compete in WA competitions'.
World Aquatics, in a statement provided to USA Today, called the decision a "major step forward in our efforts to protect women's sport.""World Aquatics is dedicated to fostering an environment that promotes fairness, respect, and equal opportunities for athletes of all genders and we reaffirm this pledge. Our policies and practices are continuously evaluated to ensure they align with these core values, which led to the introduction of our open category."
"We remain committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to uphold the principles of inclusivity in aquatic sports and remain confident that our gender inclusion policy represents a fair approach."
Thomas was the first transgender biological male to win an NCAA Division I women's national championship after beating all female athletes at a 500-yard freestyle event in 2022. Before deciding to compete against women, Thomas was 65th on the men's team in the 500-yard freestyle and 554th in the 200-yard freestyle.
The biological male swimmer was allowed to participate after the NCAA said they would not adhere to new stricter guidelines for transgender swimmers set in place by USA Swimming. The organization currently allows trans swimmers to compete against women if their testosterone is below ten nanomoles per liter of blood.
