Former Harvard women’s swimmer Miki Dahlke expressed support for Penn’s Lia Thomas after she broke her record in the 200-yard freestyle at the Ivy League women’s swimming championships over the weekend.
Thomas, who is a transgender woman, won the race in 1:43.12 seconds, edging out Dahlke’s previous meet record by 0.66 seconds. She won three individual titles at the Ivy championships, including the 100 and 500-yard freestyle events.
Dahlke offered Thomas her backing in a conversation with ESPN’s Katie Barnes on Friday.
“Records are made to be broken,” Dahlke said. “I am a faster swimmer because of fast swimmers of the past, and the future of swimming will be faster because of the women at the top of the NCAA today.”
Thomas’ success this season has been a major topic of conversation in the sports world. She started her career at Penn on the men’s team, but began to transition in 2019 and is in her first season competing with the women’s squad.
NCAA rules stipulate that transgender women can compete in women’s sports if they have taken hormone replacement therapy for at least a year. Additionally, transgender men can still compete as women if they have not taken any hormone therapy.
While some have criticized Thomas and said she has an unfair advantage competing against women, Dahlke was one of more than 300 swimmers who publicly supported Thomas recently by signing a letter sponsored by Athlete’s Ally.
[ FOX News ]
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