Female Swimmer Issues Letter To NCAA After Losing Spot To Lia Thomas
Virginia Tech swimmer Reka Gyorgy lost her spot to compete in Friday's 500 freestyle national championship due to transgender competitor Lia Thomas.
Gyorgy's story of getting booted out of contention — knocked down to the 17th spot in the preliminary meet — went viral after a teammate shared Gyorgy's plight spent toward qualifying for her final NCAA meet but losing out to a biological man.
Thomas finished the 500 with a record-breaking time of 4:33.24 after registering 4:33.82 in the prelims.
Gyorgy decided to further her qualm with Thomas' addition by submitting a letter to the NCAA, calling for the preservation of fair competition in women's athletics as the subject of transgenderism takes center stage.
https://twitter.com/RekaGyorgy_/status/1505654417848213506?s=20&t=7eQoBQnhMuIH3X7GaXIbdg
"With all due respect, I would like to address something that is a problem in our sport right now and hurting athletes, especially female swimmers," stated the letter, as relayed by Fox Digital's Ryan Gaydos.
https://twitter.com/RekaGyorgy_/status/1505654417848213506?s=20&t=7eQoBQnhMuIH3X7GaXIbdg
The Hungarian-born swimmer offered support for Thomas but did not look past the differences that men pose when competing against women.
"On the other hand, I would like to critique the NCAA rules that allow her to compete against us, who are biologically women," Gyorgy added.
"I'm writing this letter right now in hopes that the NCAA will open their eyes and change these rules in the future. It doesn't promote our sport in a good way, and I think it is disrespectful against the biologically female swimmers who are competing in the NCAA."
"It feels like the final spot was taken from me because of the NCAA's decision to let someone who is not a biological female compete. ...
"It hurts me, my team and other women in the pool. One spot was taken away from the girl who got 9th in the 500 free and didn't make it back to the final, preventing her from being an All-American. Every event that transgender athletes competed in was one spot taken away from biological females throughout the meet."
The swimmer did not relent on the NCAA's sidestepping, which has allowed Thomas to continue competing and setting records in women's swimming.
"It is the result of the NCAA and their lack of interest in protecting their athletes. I ask the NCAA take time to think about all the other biological women in swimming, try to think how they would feel if they in our shoes. Make the right changes for our sport and for a better future in swimming."
Follow along on Twitter: @AlejandroAveela