"No Participation in Women's Division"... Non-Surgical Transgender Swimmer Barred from Paris Olympics

International and Elite Competitions Ban Female Division Participation
"Only Athletes Who Underwent Gender Reassignment Surgery Before Age 12 Allowed"

Non-surgical transgender swimmer Lia Thomas (25, USA) filed a lawsuit with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to compete in women's international competitions but lost the case.

Since 2019, Lia Thomas, who has been undergoing hormone therapy, won the women's 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships, becoming the center of controversy.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the 12th (local time), foreign media including the UK Guardian reported the news of Thomas's loss, stating, "According to CAS's ruling, Thomas will not be able to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics." CAS stated on the same day, "Thomas is not qualified to challenge the policy set by the International Swimming Federation (FINA)," adding, "Thomas is currently not a member of USA Swimming. Therefore, she cannot participate in competitions organized by FINA." Furthermore, CAS added, "Thomas can only compete in 'non-elite division' events until the system is fully revised." In other words, Thomas cannot participate not only in international competitions but also in the 'elite division women's' events organized by USA Swimming. However, there is criticism that this CAS ruling is a 'half-baked' decision because it focuses solely on whether Thomas has the right to sue FINA's transgender policy, excluding scientific controversies.

Earlier, in June 2022, FINA stated, "Only athletes who underwent gender transition surgery before the age of 12 can compete in women's events," but also said, "This does not mean we encourage surgery before age 12. In most countries, surgery at that age is not feasible." This effectively means banning transgender athletes from competing in women's events. Previously, transgender athletes could participate in women's events as long as they maintained testosterone (male hormone) levels below a certain threshold. However, transgender female swimmers who have gone through male puberty retain significant physical advantages such as endurance, strength, speed, muscle mass, and lung capacity even after lowering testosterone levels through medication.

As FINA effectively banned transgender athletes from women's events, Thomas has been unable to compete in official competitions since June 2022, which led her to file the lawsuit. However, CAS sided with FINA rather than Thomas. FINA stated in a press release, "Our efforts to protect women's sports have been recognized," and added, "Our federation is committed to creating an environment where all athletes have fair and equal opportunities." They also explained that efforts to recognize transgender and gender diversity continue.

Since 2019, Lia Thomas, who has been undergoing hormone therapy, won the women's 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships, becoming the center of controversy.
[Image source=AP News]

Meanwhile, Lia Thomas, who was born male and lived under the name William Thomas, began hormone therapy to transition to female in 2019. In 2020, she changed her name and competed in women's swimming events. At that time, the NCAA allowed female competition for athletes who had undergone male hormone suppression treatment for more than one year, enabling Lia Thomas to become a female swimmer on the University of Pennsylvania team. Thomas, who ranked between 400th and 500th in the US rankings by age as a male swimmer, became the center of controversy after winning the women's 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships in March 2022. Criticism grew especially among female college swimmers. One of her teammates even expressed, "It was horrible to share a locker room with Lia Thomas, who has not undergone surgery to remove male genitalia."

As controversy over athletes' gender identity intensified, the World Swimming Federation promised to develop a new division for transgender athletes who do not meet the participation criteria. At the Swimming World Cup held in Berlin, Germany, last October, a division for transgender athletes of "all genders and gender identities" was established. However, no entries were submitted for the 50m and 100m races, which were scheduled to be held alongside male and female events, resulting in the cancellation of the races.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.