Legal setback for transgender swimmer Lia Thomas

American transgender swimmer Lia Thomas has lost her appeal against World Aquatics' ban on her competing in the women's category, following a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas has lost her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the rules of World Aquatics (WA), the new name of the former International Swimming Federation (FINA), regarding the participation of transgender athletes in competitions, according to information released by the international organisation.

The ruling prevents the American transgender swimmer from competing in the women's category at the Paris Olympics, confirming the validity of the rules challenged by the athlete.

"World Aquatics welcomes the recent decision by CAS in the case of Lia Thomas, which we believe is a significant step forward in our efforts to protect women's sport," the global governing body for aquatic sports said in a press release.

"We remain committed to working with all stakeholders to uphold the principles of inclusion in aquatic sports and are confident that our gender inclusion policy represents a fair approach."

Thomas, who broke collegiate records previously set by legendary swimmers Missy Franklin and Katie Ledecky, challenged World Aquatics' gender eligibility rules.

She argued that the rules were "discriminatory" and asked CAS to declare them illegal and overturn World Aquatics' actions, which  was upheld by CAS.

Thomas, 25, has repeatedly stated that her long-held goal is to compete in the Olympics, but as a woman she will not be able to do so following the CAS ruling.

In February 2022, amidst the controversy sparked by Thomas' victory at the NCAA Division I National Swimming Championships, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued a proclamation recognising Florida swimmer Emma Weyant as the legitimate winner, despite Thomas dominating the race.

Weyant, a silver medallist in the 400m individual medley at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, finished second, half a second behind Thomas, who made history by becoming the first transgender person to win a national swimming championship.

At the time, several members of the University of Pennsylvania women's swim team had written to the school asking that the transgender swimmer be excluded from Ivy League competition because she had biological advantages over women.

The new FINA (now World Aquatics) Gender Inclusion Policy (2022), which was approved by CAS following the ruling, states that transgender swimmers will not be allowed to compete in elite women's events if they have undergone any part of male puberty.

The policy was approved by 71% of the 152 members at the Extraordinary General Congress during the World Championships in Budapest.

Transgender competitors must have completed their transition before the age of 12 to be eligible to compete in women's events.

Thomas attempted to overturn this decision on the basis that it was discriminatory, but CAS disagreed and concluded that Thomas was ineligible to compete in elite competition through WA or USA Swimming.

"The panel notes that the athlete has not requested - much less been granted - the right to compete in 'elite events' as defined by USA Swimming's policy," the sports tribunal said in its ruling.

"She is currently only eligible to compete in USA Swimming events that do not qualify as 'elite events'," it added.

Therefore, Thomas "simply does not have the right to address eligibility in World Aquatics competitions" and is therefore "not sufficiently affected" by the rules to challenge them, the tribunal concluded.

"World Aquatics is committed to fostering an environment that promotes fairness, respect and equal opportunity for athletes of all genders and we reaffirm this commitment," the governing body said in a statement.

In response to criticism of the WA's gender policy, the statement defended: "Our policies and practices are continually evaluated to ensure they are consistent with these core values, which led to the introduction of our open category.

"We remain committed to working with all stakeholders to uphold the principles of inclusion in aquatics and are confident that our gender inclusion policy represents a fair approach," it concluded.