Free Republic

Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer who smashed women's records this year, will be banned from competing against women in international events after the world swimming's governing body announced that it will bar transgender athletes who went through male puberty. FINA, the international federation sports federation for swimming, announced on Sunday that it is changing its policies so that transgender women can only compete in women's races if they have completed their transition by the age of 12. They will then have to prove to the federation that they have continuously suppressed their testosterone levels since that time.

ATLANTA — Lia Thomas took control in the final 100 yards of the 500-yard freestyle to make history Thursday as the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming championship. Thomas, the University of Pennsylvania senior who entered the NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships as the top seed, had a season-best time of 4 minutes, 33.24 seconds. “I didn’t have a whole lot of expectation for this meet,” said Thomas, a former male swimmer for Penn State. “I was just happy to be here and race and compete the best I could.” Virginia’s Emma Weyant was second at 4:34.99....