Three judges dismissed Lia Thomas’ attempt to overturn a ruling banning her from qualifying for the Olympics

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas won’t be able to compete in the Olympics after losing her legal battle to overturn World Aquatics’s rule change.

The 25-year-old American swimmer was the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship after winning the women’s 500-yard freestyle event in 2022.

Lia Thomas contested the rule when it was introduced in 2022 (Mike Comer/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

However, World Aquatics later banned anyone who’d ‘been through male puberty’ from competing in women’s races – Thomas having started hormone replacement therapy in 2019.

The new rule was introduced after Thomas won NCAA gold after beating Olympic silver medallist Emma Weyant in the women’s 500-yard freestyle in 2022.

As per World Aquatics’ Competition Regulations – first unveiled that year and updated 1 January 2024 – section 5.5 details the ‘Eligibility for the Women’s Category’.

Section 5.5.2 states transgender women athletes are allowed to compete in its competitions as long as ‘they can establish to World Aquatics’s comfortable satisfaction that they have not experienced any part of male puberty beyond Tanner Stage 2 or before age 12, whichever is later’.

It adds: “Specifically, the athlete must produce evidence establishing that: They have complete androgen insensitivity and therefore could not experience male puberty; or They are androgen sensitive but had male puberty suppressed beginning at Tanner Stage 2 or before age 12, whichever is later, and they have since continuously maintained their testosterone levels in serum (or plasma) below 2.5 nmol/L.”

Thomas contested the new rule, launching a legal case with the Court of Arbitration for Sport accusing the change of being discriminatory and unlawful and yesterday (12 June), the ruling of a panel of three judges was released.

The rule was implemented after Thomas won the NCAA’s women’s 500m freestyle (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The three Court of Arbitration for Sport judges dismissed Thomas’ request for arbitration.

It stated that she was ‘simply not entitled to engage with eligibility to compete in WA competitions’ because when she launched the legal case she was not a member of its member federation USA Swimming.

It detailed she hadn’t competed in specific female ‘qualification or selection’ events for World Aquatic competitions specifically i.e. world championships or the Olympics – her swimming for the University of Pennsylvania and winning of the NCAA outside of the World Aquatics competitive system.

The panel concluded Thomas ‘lacks standing to challenge the policy and the operational requirements in the framework of the present proceeding,’ as reported by AP News.

Thomas responded to the ruling in a statement provided by her legal team, as quoted by Athlete Ally.

Thomas called the ruling ‘deeply disappointing’ (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

The statement reads: “The CAS decision is deeply disappointing. Blanket bans preventing trans women from competing are discriminatory and deprive us of valuable athletic opportunities that are central to our identities.

“The CAS decision should be seen as a call to action to all trans women athletes to continue to fight for our dignity and human rights.”

Founder and Executive Director at Athlete Ally, Hudson Taylor added: “For decades, the International Olympic Committee and almost all Olympic International Federations have required athletes to arbitrate disputes at CAS.

“By dismissing Lia Thomas’ legal challenge against World Aquatics, the CAS has denied her fundamental right to access an effective remedy for acts that violate her human rights. This is a sad day for sports and for anyone who believes that trans athletes should have the opportunity for their experiences of discrimination to be heard and adjudicated like everyone else.”

UNILAD has contacted World Aquatics and the Court of Arbitration for Sport for comment.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT national hotline at 888-843-4564, available Monday to Friday 4pm-12am ET and 12pm-5pm ET on Saturdays.