Former University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) swimmer Lia Thomas is looking to overturn rules requiring transgender swimmers to have started transitioning at the age of 12 to be eligible to compete at the highest levels of the sport, according to an International Court of 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 policy in March 2023 that prohibited men who identify as transgender from competing in women’s swimming events unless they transitioned before age 12. Thomas, who competed in the women’s division at UPenn as a senior despite previously swimming in the men’s division, is mounting a legal defense and filed a “request for arbitration” with CAS in September, arguing that the policy is discriminatory, according to a Friday CAS press release.
…R&I – TP
