ATLANTA. Pennsylvania collegiate swimmer Leah Thomas finished eighth in the 100-yard freestyle on Saturday. Thomas posted a time of 48.18 seconds, 0.81 seconds slower than her qualifying time of 47.37 seconds.
Virginia freshman Gretchen Walsh finished first in 46.05 seconds to win her first NCAA individual championship.
Yale junior Isak Hoenig finished with a career best of 47.32 seconds for fifth place. Hoenig is a transgender man and is eligible to compete in women’s competitions because he has not started hormone therapy.
Walsh had a slow start to the race, but gained momentum in the final 50 races to overtake senior University of Alabama staffer Morgan Scott. Thomas was eighth after the first 50 and Hoenig was fifth, where they both eventually finished. Thomas was the only finalist to go slower than her qualifying time.
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Before the race, as is customary in these competitions, Thomas’s name was met with applause, a couple of whoops and a noticeable silence.
Thomas and Hoenig reached the final of the 100 Free Matches, finishing fourth and eighth respectively. They both finished their qualifying runs in second place. The last time they met was in February at the Ivy League Championship. There, Thomas prevailed over Hoenig, winning the conference title. In Atlanta, Hoenig avenged this loss.
On the podium after the awards ceremony, Thomas and Hoenig took a picture together and hugged in celebration. Both swimmers had “Let Transgender Children Play” written on their arms for the race.
100 freebies ended the months-long controversy surrounding Thomas. Ever since she won the 200, 500 and 1650 freestyle in Akron, Ohio at the Zippy Invitational in December, her name has been in the news.
At first he gawked at the time she set and their closeness to Cathy Ledecky’s 500 and Missy Franklin’s 200. Although Thomas was 10 seconds behind Ledecky’s pace and more than 2 seconds behind Franklin, she seemed to be within reach in December.
Many in the swim community wondered just how fast Thomas would be after a season of training and full preparation for the NCAA championship.
That key question was finally answered in Atlanta. Thomas competed in three individual events: 500m, 200m and 100m freestyle. She reached all three championship finals (the A-final in the language of swimming), making her a three-time All-American. She placed eighth in the 100, tied for fifth in the 200 and won the 500, finishing 9 seconds short of Ledecky’s record. During the competition, Thomas did not set any pool or American records.
“It means the world is here,” Thomas said on the pool deck after winning the 500.
The tension building by Thursday evening was a mixture of anticipation, the emotions of the protesters inside and outside the pool, and uncertainty about how Thomas would perform.
“[Thursday] was tense,” said Elizabeth Beizel, an Olympian and two-time NCAA champion in Florida who worked as an analyst for ESPN’s swimming championships broadcast. “Everyone on deck held their breath. Leah swam. Leah won. [On Friday] it seemed like we were back to regular swimming competitions. As the meeting went on, I felt much calmer. It’s like any other NCAA event.”
“I definitely feel for her,” Wisconsin freshman Paige McKenna said after winning the 1650 freestyle. “It was hard to come here, the situation she was in. With all this experience, people need to learn to treat other people with more respect. I respect her very much. .”
But despite everything that happened in Atlanta this week, the question of what will happen next is very acute. When the NCAA announced its new policy on January 19, it opened a can of worms that has yet to be resolved. Prior to this date, NCAA policy governing transgender women’s eligibility for women’s championships was that they must complete 12 months of testosterone suppression. But the policy, which went into effect on January 19, delayed policy development until each sport’s national governing body took effect immediately.
For the purposes of this swim season, the focus is on the US swim policy, which the organization updated in February. This policy, which did not specifically apply to NCAA championships, applies to U.S. swimmers, certain elite events, and those who want to be eligible for U.S. records starting at age 13-14.
The policy requires transgender women to appear before an independent panel and prove they have no competitive advantage over their cisgender peers (criteria for such proof were not listed) and undergo testosterone suppression for 36 months with their testosterone levels below 5 nanomoles. per litre.
However, the NCAA has not applied these rules to the 2022 Swimming Championships, and it is not clear how they will apply to swimming eligibility in the future.
Thomas’ swimming career is over. She is currently the only known transgender woman competing in NCAA Division I track and field. What’s next when it comes to politics regarding transgender athletes in collegiate sports remains an open question.
But this week, Georgia did not answer this question.