Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has said in a new interview that Leah Thomas, a transgender record-breaking swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania, should have an “asterisk” next to her name.
Navratilova’s comments, which aired Thursday night on News Nation, came on the same day that Thomas won the NCAA Women’s 500 Yard Championship.
The 59-time Grand Slam champion also criticized the NCAA rules and said the national organization needed to level the playing field for its athletes.
“This is not about permanently excluding transgender women from the winners,” Navratilova, 65, said. “It’s about not letting them win when they weren’t even close to winning as men.”
“But now the rules are what they are. Maybe put an asterisk there if she starts breaking records right and left, ”Navratilova said, referring to Foma.
Navratilova suggested that the NCAA could have one category in which only biological women compete against each other, and then adopt an “open category” for everyone else.
Thomas, who had been swimming at the University of Pennsylvania for three years prior to the transition, easily won Thursday’s race in a time of 4:33.24.
She will also compete in the NCAA 200 and 100 yard championships later this week.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has said record-breaking transgender swimmer Leah Thomas should have an ‘asterisk’ next to her name. Karwai Tang/WireImage
University of Pennsylvania transgender athlete Thomas won the 500 yard freestyle at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 17, 2022. AP/John Bazemore
Thomas swam at the University of Pennsylvania as a man for three years before moving on to her senior year. Penn Athletics.