Lia Thomas is an American swimmer and student at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2021 and 2022, her athletic achievements as a trans woman became a point of public debate about transgender women in sports.

Thomas began swimming at the age of five, and was sixth in the state high school swimming championships, competing for Westlake High School. In 2017, she started attending the University of Pennsylvania.

In early 2021, Lia Thomas became the talk of the town for some media houses including Fox News.

Folks who acted on strict anonymity wrote to the University of Pennsylvania swimming club individuals kept in touch with the NCAA, looking for Thomas to be pronounced ineligible to contend.

In December 2021, USA Swimming authority Cynthia Millen surrendered following 30 years in dissent of Thomas’ qualification to contend and appeared on the Fox News show The Ingraham Angle.

In a January 10, 2022 article, The Washington Post expressed, “Thomas has shattered school records and has posted the fastest times of any female college swimmer in two events this season.

She’ll probably be a favorite at the NCAA championships in March, even as people inside and outside the sport debate her place on the pool deck.”

In January 2022, The University of Pennsylvania, most institutions affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and the Ivy League gave articulations supporting Thomas.

What is Lia Thomas Birth Name?

Popular swimmer Lia Thomas was born Lia Catherine Thomas.

Why Did Lia Thomas Change Her Birth Name?

Lia Thomas has not changed her name. She chose “Catherine” as a middle name—her mother’s birth name.