YMCA rules don’t appear to outlaw political statements on suits outright, though there are some limitations on using YMCA resources to publicize political campaigns or committees (to maintain non-profit status). The 2022 USA Swimming Rulebook states that political statements are not allowed on athletes’ swimwear, but does not further define what a political statement is. The Duluth YMCA Northerns Swim Team is a dual-sanctioned YMCA and USA Swimming program.

Lyons created the bathing suit herself after hearing about Amir Locke being fatally shot by the Minneapolis police on February 2.Īccording to Lyons’s mother, Sarah Lyons, the official claimed that Lyons’s bathing suit violated USA Swimming’s policy against political language and told the young swimmer that if she did not change, she would be disqualified. Share 12-Year-Old Swimmer Nearly Disqualified for Wearing ‘Black Lives Matter’ Suit on LinkedInĭuring a swim meet in Superior, Wisconsin on Sunday at Superior High School, 12-year-old swimmer Leidy Lyons was nearly disqualified for wearing a bathing suit with the slogan ‘Black Lives Matter.’ Duluth YMCA officials overturned the disqualification, and Lyons was allowed to compete in the bathing suit.Share 12-Year-Old Swimmer Nearly Disqualified for Wearing ‘Black Lives Matter’ Suit on Pinterest.Submit 12-Year-Old Swimmer Nearly Disqualified for Wearing ‘Black Lives Matter’ Suit to Reddit.Tweet 12-Year-Old Swimmer Nearly Disqualified for Wearing ‘Black Lives Matter’ Suit.Share 12-Year-Old Swimmer Nearly Disqualified for Wearing ‘Black Lives Matter’ Suit on Facebook.The Daily Mail documented a number of other social media users who felt similarly. This is not right! We need to return to #SexBasedSports! #SexNotGender to preserve fairness for female athletes.” “Lia competed as male for first three years in #NCAA. “Well of course women’s records are being smashed!” tweeted Chicago-based sports performance coach Linda Blade. “Being trans has not affected my ability to do this sport and being able to continue is very rewarding.”Īs is always the case in stories like this, there is a lot of controversy about fairness of people who are born as men competing as women.

Was I going to keep swimming? What did that look like? Realizing I was trans threw that into question. “The process of coming out as being trans and continuing to swim was a lot of uncertainty and unknown around an area that’s usually really solid. I’ve been a swimmer since I was 5 years old,” Thomas said. “(Swimming) is a huge part of my life and who I am. Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas is breaking records at U Penn. Thomas, co-chair of the UPenn club Non-Cis, spoke to Penn Today this past June. NCAA rules mandate at least one year of testosterone suppression treatment to be eligible to compete as a woman. It is unknown when Thomas transitioned from male to female, but the swimmer competed as a man as recently as November 2019. These times were records for Penn and would have placed Thomas second and third, respectively, in the NCAA Women’s Championships, according to the website OutKick. 20, Thomas had a 1:43:47 time in the 200-meter freestyle and 4:35:06 in the 500-meter freestyle. Lia Thomas, a 22-year old transgender swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania, has been shattering women’s records at the school.īefore her transition, she competed for three years at Penn as a man, named Will Thomas.Īt a meet including Princeton and Cornell on Nov. Transgender swimmers post fastest times at Ivy League championships

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas is dominating at Ivy League Championships Lia Thomas wins second Ivy League title with record-setting 200m swim

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas pushes back: ‘I belong on the women’s team’

Symbol for female swimmer