Trans swimmer Lia Thomas quietly wages legal battle to overturn rule barring Olympic eligibility

Former University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) swimmer Lia Thomas is seeking to overturn rules that require transgender swimmers to have begun transitioning at age 12 in order to compete at the sport's highest levels, according to an International Court of Justice 'Arbitration for Sport. CAS) press release.

World Aquatics' (WA), which governs all international water sports competitions and is recognized by the International Olympic Committee, adopted a politics in March 2023, it banned transgender-identifying males from competing in women's swimming events unless they transitioned before the age of 12. Thomas, what competed in the women's division at UPenn as a senior despite previously swimming in the men's division, is assembly a legal defense and filed a “request for arbitration” with the CAS in September, arguing that the policy is discriminatory, seconds to a CAS press release on Friday.

“Mrs. Thomas agrees that fair competition is a legitimate sporting goal and that some regulation of transgender women in swimming is appropriate,” the press release said. “However, Ms Thomas claims that the challenged provisions are invalid and illegal as they discriminate against her against the Olympic Charter, the World Aquatics Constitution and Swiss law, including the European Convention on Human Rights Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; and that this discrimination cannot be justified as necessary, reasonable or proportionate to achieve a legitimate sporting goal”.

The WA rules came after Thomas became the first biological male swimmer to win the NCAA swimming championships in the women's 500-yard final in March 2022. Thomas is asking the court to declare the policy “unlawful, invalid and of no force or effect,” according to the press release.

Carlos Sayao, Thomas' lawyer, said that the rules caused “deep harm to trans women” in a statement to The Telegraph, which first reported the story.

“Trans women are particularly vulnerable in society and suffer higher rates of violence, abuse and harassment than cis women,” said Sayao. “Lia has now had the door closed on her future ability to play her sport and compete at the highest level.”

Sayao and WA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Latest messages from Kate Anderson (see everything)

We have zero tolerance for comments that contain violence, racism, profanity, profanity, doxing, or rude behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it, click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for engaging with us in a fruitful conversation.