Claim:

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas has left competitive swimming for good.

Rating:

Labeled Satire ( About this rating? )

In May 2024, Facebook account The Patriots Network posted about transgender athlete Lia Thomas leaving competitive swimming permanently and vowing to "swim with men now":

Breaking: Lia Thomas Bows Out of Competitive Swimming, Says "Nobody Wants Me On Their Team"

In a surprising and emotion-laden announcement, celebrated swimmer Lia Thomas has decided to withdraw from competitive swimming, citing an emotionally exhaustive journey and feeling of isolation in a statement released yesterday. Thomas, a transgender athlete, has been the nucleus of numerous debates surrounding fairness, gender, and competition integrity in women's sports.

( The Patriots Network / Facebook)

The Facebook post linked to the full story that SpaceXMania published in October 2023, going into greater detail about Thomas' alleged departure from competitive swimming, pointing to the "surprising and emotion-laden announcement" from the athlete:

"The waters have been turbulent, not due to the physical demands but the constant battle to seek acceptance and fairness in a sport I adore. No athlete should feel isolated or singled out for their identity rather than recognized for their achievements."

However, this story proved to be untrue. No reputable news outlets or websites have shared the alleged statement attributed to Thomas. SpaceXMania.com is a platform that describes some of its output as being humorous and satirical in nature, both on its "About Us" page and as a label above articles, including the one about Thomas.

In other words, there was no genuine news about Thomas bowing out of competitive swimming, and the post was satire.

Prior to her gender transition in 2019, Thomas competed for the University of Pennsylvania's men's swim team. In March 2022, she made history as the first openly transgender woman to win a U.S. National College Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I title in any sport when she secured the fastest time in the 500-yard freestyle swimming race . She also made the finals in the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle.

In January 2024, Thomas launched a legal action against World Aquatics, the international governing body for swimming, aiming to challenge its June 2022 policy that restricted transgender women from competing unless they transitioned before age 12. Thomas is seeking to overturn these regulations, arguing for what she sees as fair and equal treatment for transgender athletes. Her case, lodged with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), raises significant questions about the inclusivity of sports regulations and the rights of transgender individuals to compete without discrimination based on their gender identity.

Appearing on " Good Morning America" in 2022, Thomas, who graduated college that same year with plans to enroll in law school, told ABC News' Juju Chang, "It's been a goal of mine to swim at Olympic trials for a very long time, and I would love to see that through."

The new rules from World Aquatics mean that as a trans woman, Thomas has been banned from competing in women's swimming events at the Olympics.

Snopes encourages readers to exercise caution when they encounter sensational claims involving well-known public figures. The satire site SpaceXMania, which Snopes frequently fact-checks, is known for spreading sensationalized and false information about polarizing public figures.

This is not the first time Snopes has checked out stories about Thomas and the NCAA originating from this particular combination of satire news site and Facebook page. We previously looked into stories about U.S. Olympic athletes threatening to quit if Thomas was allowed to try out , and the "Olympic Committee" banning her for life , both of which were untrue.

For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.

Sources:

America, Good Morning. "Transgender Swimmer Lia Thomas Speaks out about Backlash, Future Plans to Compete." Good Morning America , https://goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/transgender-swimmer-lia-thomas-speaks-backlash-future-plans-85068951 . Accessed 15 May 2024.

Breaking: Lia Thomas Bows Out of Competitive Swimming, Says "Nobody Wants Me On Their Team." 5 Oct. 2023, https://spacexmania.com/breaking-lia-thomas-bows-out-of-competitive-swimming-says-nobody-wants-me-on-their-team1466/ .

"College Swimmers, Volleyball Players Sue NCAA over Transgender Policies." AP News , 14 Mar. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/transgender-lia-thomas-swimming-lawsuit-b7df63108a03100f36b2e4364d585cdc .

"Debate Follows Lia Thomas after Record-Setting Performance." ESPN.Com , 20 Feb. 2022, https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/33332856/penn-swimmer-lia-thomas-leaves-ivy-league-meet-four-champion-questions-remain .

DIVISION I WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS RECORDS BOOK . NCAA, 2022, http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/swimming_champs_records/2022-23/D1Women.pdf .

Lia Thomas Sues World Aquatics for Transgender Participation . https://www.advocate.com/sports/lia-thomas-sues-world-aquatics . Accessed 15 May 2024.

"Penn's Thomas 5th in 200 Free at NCAA Champs." ESPN.Com , 18 Mar. 2022, https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/33540686/penn-swimmer-lia-thomas-places-fifth-200-yard-freestyle-final .

Rumsby, Ben. "Transgender Swimmer Lia Thomas in Secret Legal Challenge against Ban." The Telegraph , 25 Jan. 2024. www.telegraph.co.uk , https://www.telegraph.co.uk/swimming/2024/01/25/transgender-swimmer-lia-thomas-legal-challenge-ban/ .

"The NCAA Is Not Taking Medals Away from Transgender Athlete Lia Thomas." AP News , 6 Dec. 2023, https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-lia-thomas-riley-gaines-ncaa-573637272452 .

Weissman, Sara. "College Athletes Sue NCAA Over Trans Eligibility Policies." Inside Higher Ed , https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2024/03/19/college-athletes-sue-ncaa-over-trans-eligibility-policies . Accessed 15 May 2024.

"World Swimming Bans Transgender Athletes from Women's Events." AP News , 22 June 2022, https://apnews.com/article/transgender-swimmers-new-rules-fina-world-governing-body-c17e99d3121fa964336458b57ae266f7 .

https://swimmeetresults.tech/NCAA-Division-I-Women-2022/220316F003.htm . Accessed 15 May 2024.