CAMBRIDGE, Mass — University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas is an Ivy League champion.
Thomas, who is a transgender woman, won the 500-yard freestyle Thursday night in 4 minutes, 37.32 seconds, a Blodgett Pool record and her best time since the Zippy Invitational in December.
Thomas was among three Penn swimmers in the final, with teammate Catherine Buroker finishing seven seconds behind in second place and Anna Kalandadze placing fourth.
Buroker and Kalandadze applauded as Thomas was awarded her medal. Following the ceremony, the three Quakers posed for pictures on the podium, Thomas holding an “Ivy 2022 Champion” sign.
Thomas entered the night as the top seed after winning her morning heat with a time of 4:41.19. She closed her Day 2 slate by swimming the second leg of Penn’s 200 freestyle relay that placed fourth. She is scheduled to swim the 200 freestyle and either the…
