PERSON: Lia Thomas

Professional Swimmer

Lia Catherine Thomas (born 1999 or 2000)[2] is an American swimmer. In 2017, she began studying at the University of Pennsylvania, from which she graduated in May 2022.[3] She competed on the university’s men’s swim team from 2017 to 2020, and on its women’s swim team from 2021 to 2022. In March 2022, she became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship in any sport, after winning the women’s 500-yard freestyle event. Beginning in 2021, she became part of the public debate about transgender women in sports.[4][5][6]

Early life and education
Thomas grew up in Austin, Texas, and has an older brother.[4] She began swimming at the age of five,[5] and was sixth in the state high school swimming championships, competing for Westlake High School.[4] In 2017, she started attending the University of Pennsylvania.[2] She graduated in 2022 and plans to attend law school, pursuing a career as a civil rights attorney.[7]

Towards the end of high school, Thomas began to question her gender identity.[2][8] After her freshman year at college, during the summer of 2018, she came out as transgender to her family.[2][5] She began using her new name on New Year’s Day in 2020. In an interview with Sports Illustrated she said, “In a way, it was sort of a rebirth, for the first time in my life, feeling fully connected to my name and who I am and living who I am. I am Lia.”

[Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lia_Thomas]