‘It’s easier to fight the whole world than to fight yourself’: Why transgender swimmer Lia Thomas wouldn’t change a thing

By Ben Church, CNN

(CNN) — In a rare interview, Lia Thomas described what life was like as arguably the most prominent transgender swimmer in the world.

Thomas has been the subject of global scrutiny after winning a host of NCAA women’s races, triggering an outcry from those who thought she – as a transgender woman – held an unfair advantage over her competitors.

The issue was given extra attention after the Trump administration ordered the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), for whom Thomas competed, to erase the transgender swimmer’s records.

In July, Penn modified a trio of school records set by Thomas and said it would apologize to the female athletes she competed against.

In an extensive interview with Philadelphia-based public media outlet WHYY just before Penn’s decision, Thomas spoke about the impact so much attention has had on her life and career.

Thomas last competed for Penn in 2022 and, in 2024, lost a legal battle against the global swimming governing body World Aquatics which prevented her from competing in elite women’s races due to its new policy.

As such, her life as a professional swimmer was over.

“I still swim occasionally, just on my own at a local YMCA,” Thomas told WHYY.

“With everything that happened my senior year and has happened since, it’s very easy to slip into almost like a negative perception of swimming, where swimming and being in the water just brings up all that pain and all those feelings of grief all over again and very fresh. It takes a lot of effort to try to focus on the joy that swimming still brings me.

“There are moments where I can just, I can find that escape that it was for me as a child, and just let everything sort of wash away and it feels almost like I’m flying, and it still absolutely, it can be that place of peace and happiness, but it unfortunately takes a concerted effort at times.”

Finding acceptance

In the interview, Thomas spoke openly about how she struggled with gender dysphoria during her younger years and said swimming was often a way of escaping her problems.

Thomas said she knew she was trans just before starting college and that it felt like a “wonderful realization” before fears about how people would react came creeping in.

“The toughest conversation was the first time I came out to my parents. And that was the most sort of terrified I’ve ever been in my life,” Thomas said, adding her parents were initially confused but supportive.

“They were caught totally off guard. They had no idea; they did not see it coming.

“What I think essentially happened in between that first conversation and the next conversation was they tried to research what being trans was and meant. And, in doing that, fell into essentially transphobic misinformation rabbit holes.”

Thomas said her parents needed time to accept her desire to transition and that it took them seeing how happy she was to fully understand her decision. She hopes that, ultimately, the same will happen with sections of society and media.

“They parroted a lot of really transphobic talking points, and it caused a lot of harm. But it wasn’t totally unsalvageable,” Thomas said.

“What fixed it, what healed that relationship, was seeing just how much this meant to me. And also after starting hormone replacement therapy, seeing just how much happier I was when I was being true to myself. And every day more that they saw that, they only solidified their support and have come fully around and are now some of my biggest supporters.”

Advice to children

There were times, Thomas said, that she felt the whole world was against her. In those dark moments, she leaned on the support of close family and friends, including Schuyler Bailar.

Bailar is a transgender man who, like Thomas, swam at a high collegiate level. Now, he works to educate people on trans issues.

When Thomas was asked what she would say to children who might be facing the same issues she faced, she echoed advice that Bailar had given her six years ago.

“It’s easier to fight the whole world than to fight yourself every day,” Thomas said.

“Because when I look back on my journey, on all the difficulties, all the highs and lows, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

“There’s just no substitute to living and being your authentic self. But it unfortunately takes courage because of the many difficulties that there are surrounding being openly trans, especially being an openly trans athlete.

“But it’s absolutely worth it, and I know you can do it.”

The-CNN-Wire
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