Transgender Swimmer Rule Challenge Goes Up In Flames

(PatriotPostNews.com) — An athletic organization has denied the request of notorious male swimmer William Thomas, who identifies as a woman named Lia, and sought to challenge a rule that requires him to compete against biological males in “elite events.”

The former swimmer for the University of Pennsylvania appealed a rule by World Aquatics which, updated in March 2023, bars men from competing against women in a number of Olympic events, including swimming. Thomas had been trying to compete against biological females this summer, during the Olympic games held in Paris, France.

The international governing organization voted in 2022 to exclude so-called “transgender” athletes from competing in elite women’s competitions. On Wednesday June 12, the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected the legal challenge, leaving Thomas ineligible to take part in the upcoming Olympic Games.

The panel that reviewed the appeal—which referred to Thomas as “she”—said that the challenge “lacks standing” to reverse the “framework of the present proceeding.” The controversial swimmer is still “only entitled to compete” in swimming competitions in the United States which are not categorized as “elite events,” the panel added.

Following the rejection of the legal challenge, World Aquatics said it “welcomes” the decision, which it described as a “major step” in the organization’s determination to “protect women’s sports.” The statement further emphasized that World Aquatics has a commitment to enabling “fairness, respect, and equal opportunities” for its athletes.

The organization does not completely exclude self-identified “transgender” athletes, despite its ability to keep biological males and females in separate sporting competitions. In 2023, it launched a “transgender” category for a World Cup event that was hosted in Berlin, Germany.

World Aquatics added that its policies “are continuously evaluated” to keep within the group’s “core values.” This was cited as its reasoning for starting the “open category,” which allows athletes who identify as a gender contradictory to their biological sex to compete against each other.