A Virginia Tech swimmer who lost her spot to compete is critiquing the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for allowing a biological male in the 500-yard freestyle. .On Thursday night, Lia Thomas became the first known transgender athlete to win a Division I national championship in any sport when Thomas touched the wall in 4 minutes, 33.24..But Virginia Tech swimmer Reka Gyorgy says Thomas stole her spot — and that transgender athletes will continue to take spots from biological females unless the NCAA reconsiders its policy. .“I would like to critique the NCAA rules that allowed (Thomas) to compete against us, who are biologically women,” the statement reads. “Every event that transgender athletes competed in was one spot taken from biological females throughout the meet.”.Gyorgy placed 17th in the event, behind Thomas, missing the cut-off to get into the consolation final in the 500 free. .“This is my last college meet ever and I feel frustrated,” she said..Gyorgy, a Hungarian-born swimmer, competed in the 200-meter backstroke at the 2016 Olympic Summer Games..Another spot was taken from the swimmer who placed ninth, and therefore didn’t make it to the A final and was kept from becoming an All-American, Gyorgy said..Gyorgy said also Thomas pushed “to the limit to be the best athlete she could be. (Thomas) is doing what (Thomas) is passionate about and deserves that right.”.Thomas began swimming on the men’s swim team at University of Pennsylvania in 2017..Thomas began transitioning using hormone replacement therapy in May 2019 and moved over to the women’s team in 2021..Gyorgy didn’t offer specific recommendations, but asked the NCAA to think about all the biological women in swimming and “think about how they would feel if they would be in our shoes.”.“Make the right changes for our sport and for a better future in swimming.”.In her statement, Gyorgy also said she doesn’t want to make any further comments..Rachel Emmanuel is an Ottawa Parliamentary reporter for the Western Standard
