Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas Shrugs Off Question Of Advantages Over Biological Females: ‘I’m Happy’

Biological male swimmer Lia Thomas seemed to suggest that competitive advantages in swimming are irrelevant since Thomas is now “happy” identifying and competing as a transgender woman.

Thomas discussed backlash following the NCAA Women’s Swimming Championships where the trans athlete competed against biological females, annihilating them in the 500 freestyle.

“There’s a lot of factors that go into a race and how well you do,” Thomas told Good Morning America in an exclusive interview that aired Tuesday. “The biggest change for me is that I’m happy.”

WATCH: 

Trans athlete Lia Thomas, speaking out after the NCAA backlash, addresses whether biological males have advantages over women: “There’s a lot of factors that go into a race and how well you do. The biggest change for me is that I’m happy.” pic.twitter.com/bXbKfcpZ2o

— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) May 31, 2022

“Sophomore year, I had my best times competing with the men, I was miserable, and so having that be lifted is incredibly relieving and allows me to put my all into training, into racing,” Thomas continued.

“Trans people don’t transition for athletics, we transition to be happy and authentic and our true selves,” Thomas said. “Transitioning to get an advantage is not something that ever factors into our decisions.”

“You didn’t transition to win more medals?” asked ABC reporter Juju Chang.

“No,” responded Thomas.

Chang pointed out that many of Thomas’s teammates signed an anonymous letter saying that they support the biological male athlete’s right to transition but believe that it is unfair for Thomas to compete against biological women in sports.

“You can’t go halfway and be like, I support trans women and trans people but only to a certain point,” Thomas said. “If  you support trans women as women, and they’ve met all the NCAA requirements, then I don’t know if you can really say something like that. Trans women are not a threat to women’s sports.”

Chang also interviewed Dr. Michael Joyner, a medical expert with the Mayo Clinic, asking whether “years of hormone therapy cannot put trans women in a place to compete with cisgender women.”

“I think that the evidence so far would suggest that period of a year, two years, three years, four years, is probably insufficient,” he said.

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🚨🚨@JujuChangABC: “Are you saying that years of hormone therapy cannot put trans women in a place to compete with cisgender women?

Dr. Michael Joyner: “I think that the evidence so far would suggest that period of a year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, is probably insufficient.” pic.twitter.com/R0kHHXyeN4

— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) May 31, 2022

Chang also asked Thomas about the “legacy effects of testosterone” and whether biologically male athletes can ever truly eliminate all testosterone that is giving them advantages over women.

“Should that eliminate or disqualify transgender women?” Chang asked.

“I’m not a medical expert but there is a lot of variation among cis female athletes,” Thomas said. “There are cis women who are very tall and very muscular and have more testosterone than another cis woman. Should that disqualify them?”

WATCH: 

EXCLUSIVE: “Trans people don’t transition for athletics. We transition to be happy and authentic and our true selves.”

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas speaks out to @JujuChangABC about backlash and future plans to compete. https://t.co/UFQOgMNBLj pic.twitter.com/FJcmyEChi9

— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 31, 2022

The interview comes ahead of the release of The Daily Wire’s What Is A Woman documentary, in which Matt Walsh examines the current controversy surrounding gender and biology.