Biology - That Old Chestnut - Ruins an Olympic Dream

Lia Thomas banned from Paris as a woman

Lia Thomas

What does it say about our culture, that a biological man being banned from swimming against women at the Olympic Games, is big news?

It would seem pretty obvious to most people - especially to people with daughters - that if you’re a 6 foot 4, biological male, you don’t get to race against the girls.

But nothing is obvious anymore - especially when it comes to gender.

And so US transgender swimmer Lia Thomas was in court this week arguing for the right to race as a woman against women in Paris next month.

The 25-year-old was a below average swimmer as a male - ranking in the mid 400s. That was as recently as 2019.

But then Thomas identified as a woman, and started dominating female events, famously - or should that be infamously - winning a female 500m national college title in 2022.

Yep, Thomas went from rank outsider to podium-topping champion in just three years.

But how to explain the dramatic improvement? It was a mystery.