Recently, the controversial transgender swimmer Lia Thomas was prohibited from competing in women’s swimming events in the Olympics. Thomas had filed a legal challenge in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), making the case to compete in the Olympic games, which was decisively rejected.
Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer at the University of Kentucky, reposted a headline from Yahoo Sports: “Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas loses legal challenge in CAS [Court of Arbitration for Sport] ruling.” Notably, Gaines competed against Thomas in 2022 and has become a conservative activist for protecting women’s athletics.
According to the report from Yahoo Sports, ”The CAS panel found that ‘for the time being’ she is not eligible to compete in elite competitions through World Aquatics or USA Swimming, so the policy does not apply to her.” Per the ruling against the transgender swimmer, “[Thomas] is currently only entitled to compete in USA Swimming events that do not qualify as ‘Elite Events.'”
Gaines celebrated the ruling on X, where she noted that it was a “victory for women and girls.” She wrote, “Great news! Lia Thomas won’t be able to compete in women’s category at the Olympics or any other elite competition. He has just lost his legal battle in Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling. This is a victory for women and girls everywhere.“
Users in the comments section also voiced their support of the ruling. “He should have all the titles he’s won stripped and given to the second place finisher instead,” one person said. “That’s a good start. Now these cheaters need to be stripped of their medals and records, and reparations made to the women and girls who were cheated of what was rightfully theirs,” another added.
Following the decision to bar Thomas from the Olympic women’s events, World Aquatics released a statement noting it was a significant win in the ongoing fight to protect women’s sports. The organization said, “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.”
The message concluded that it would continue to maintain a “fair approach” to its policies around gender. “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,” the statement added.
Gaines also released a statement in the aftermath of the decision emphasizing that it was a “small victory” in the much larger fight to preserve female sports. “This ruling is a small victory for girls and women everywhere. I think we will see more wins like this both in the judicial courts and the courts public opinion as time goes on. Although he would never qualify, Thomas can still try out for the men’s U.S. Olympic team. I hope the NCAA now takes a similar decisive action by stripping Thomas off all awards, titles, and records he stole from deserving female athletes,” she said.
Featured image credit: By Iszac Henig (rights holder) – Boston, Massachusetts HRT: Had a Remarkable Time, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=127712460
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