Penn Swimmer Lia Thomas Wins Third Ivy League Title in Three Days

Penn swimmer Lia Thomas secured her third Ivy League title on Saturday night, winning the 100-yard freestyle in an Ivy League Championships record 47.63 seconds.

Saturday marked the third straight day in which Thomas took home first place. She won the 200-yard freestyle on Friday and 500-yard freestyle on Thursday.

Thomas, a transgender swimmer competing on Penn’s women’s team, beat out Yale swimmer Iszak Henig to win the 100-yard freestyle. Henig won the women’s 50 freestyle on Wednesday, finishing at 47.82 seconds during the 100-yard freestyle.

Thomas’s victories at the Ivy League championships comes amid debate regarding transgender participation in collegiate athletics. Earlier this year, 16 Penn swimmers wrote a letter arguing Thomas shouldn’t compete on the women’s team, while a different group of Penn swimmers publicly supported Thomas’ place on the team.

Over 300 current and former collegiate and professional swimmers also signed a letter supporting Thomas, in which they urged the NCAA to allow her to compete. The NCAA ultimately decided not to change any rules midseason, paving the way for Thomas to swim in both the Ivy League and NCAA Championships.