Lia Thomas became the first known transgender woman to win a Division I national championship on Thursday, winning the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 4:33.24 at the NCAA swimming championships.
Virginia’s Emma Weyant finished second in a time of 4:34.99. Erica Sullivan from Texas took third.
The time was a season best for Thomas, who was a little less than three seconds off of Leah Smith’s pool record of 4:30.81 and more than nine seconds behind Katie Ledecky’s NCAA and American record of 4:24.06. It was four-tenths faster than last year’s winning time, a 4:33.61 posted by Paige Madden of Virginia.
“It means the world to be here,” Thomas said in an interview with Elizabeth Beisel after the race. Thomas declined to attend the NCAA-required post race news conference.
Dueling protests dominated the streets outside of the McAuley Center. Protestors from Save Women’s Sports and Young Women for America stood outside and inside of the pool all day. Their founder, Beth Stelzer, draped a banner with the organization’s phrase over one of the pool’s railings. And while the cheering was loud for each swimmer, it was noticeably quiet during Thomas’ introduction, and reportedly quiet again during the trophy ceremony.
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