Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer, lost a legal battle on Wednesday challenging an effective ban on trans women competing at the highest levels of women’s swimming, ending her chances of competing in the Summer Olympics in Paris next month.
Three judges on the Court of Arbitration for Sport denied Thomas’ request for arbitration with the World Aquatics governing organization.
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“The panel concludes that she lacks standing to challenge the policy and operational requirements in the framework of the present proceeding,” the court stated in its decision on Wednesday.
Thomas, who rarely gives media interviews, told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” in 2022 that one of her lifelong ambitions was to compete in the Olympics.
She will be unable to compete in this month’s Olympic qualifying trials following Wednesday’s judgment.
World Aquatics’ 2022 regulations exclude transgender women who have experienced male puberty from competing in women’s races. It also created an “open” category for transgender athletes.
Last year, Thomas petitioned Switzerland’s sports court to overturn the restrictions, claiming they were illegal, unlawful, and discriminatory. Some months after Thomas, then a University of Pennsylvania student, became the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming championship in 2022, the restrictions came into effect.
“The CAS decision is deeply disappointing,” Thomas stated in a statement sent through her counsel. “Blanket bans preventing trans women from competing are discriminatory and deprive us of valuable athletic opportunities that are central to our identities.”
“The CAS decision should be seen as a call to action for all trans women athletes to continue to fight for our dignity and human rights,” Thomas said.
World Aquatics applauded the CAS ruling, which “we believe is a major step forward in our efforts to protect women’s sport.”
Thomas’ NCAA victory received international media attention, putting her at the heart of a long-running global dispute about whether trans women should be allowed to compete in female athletics. Her success has made her a popular target for right-wing media.
Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer who has recently been an outspoken adversary of Thomas in conservative media, applauded Thomas’ legal defeat on X.
“This is a victory for women and girls everywhere,” Gaines, who is also suing the NCAA for allowing Thomas to compete in the 2022 championships, wrote, misgendering Thomas.
Athlete Ally, a charity that fights for LGBTQ inclusion in sports, blasted the decision.
“By dismissing Lia Thomas’ legal challenge against World Aquatics, the CAS has denied her fundamental right to access an effective remedy for acts that violate her human rights,” Hudson Taylor, founder and executive director of Athlete Ally, said in a statement. Hudson Taylor, founder and executive director of Athlete Ally, said, “This is a sad day for sports and for anyone who believes that trans athletes should have the opportunity to have their experiences of discrimination heard and adjudicated like everyone else.”
