Lia Thomas has officially been stripped of her medals and records after the University of Pennsylvania reached an agreement to ban transgender women from its female sports teams. The move came after a federal civil rights investigation and pressure from the Department of Education.
Thomas made history as the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship when she won the women’s 500-yard freestyle in 2022. She has since graduated and is no longer competing at the university level.
The school has now revoked her swimming titles and updated its records to reflect the changes. A message on their site reads: “Competing under eligibility rules in effect at the time, Lia Thomas set program records in the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle during the 2021-22 season.”
UPenn said it would be sending apology letters to the women who lost placements due to Thomas’ participation. The university also said it will use biology-based definitions for male and female moving forward, as part of the agreement.
President J. Larry Jameson said: “While Penn’s policies during the 2021-2022 swim season were in accordance with NCAA eligibility rules at the time, we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules. We recognise this and will apologise to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.”
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said: “Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, UPenn has agreed both to apologise for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women’s sports are protected at the University for future generations of female athletes.
“The Department commends UPenn for rectifying its past harms against women and girls, and we will continue to fight relentlessly to restore Title IX’s proper application and enforce it to the fullest extent of the law.”
The decision is part of a broader effort led by Trump’s administration, which returned to power in January. In May, $175 million of UPenn’s federal funding was frozen over the school’s previous transgender athlete policies.
Trump’s administration has been clear about opposing trans participation in women’s sports, and several schools, including Ivy League universities, have faced investigations this year. The Department of Education said UPenn’s agreement marks another step in restoring fairness for female athletes.
