Jump to content

National News From Ocacek Natatorium


zippy-claws

Recommended Posts

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/dec/5/transgender-swimmer-lia-thomas-smashes-womens-reco/

 

So while we argue about which logo is the best for our Zips, we made the news this past weekend with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas dominating 3 of the 4 events she entered, breaking meet and pool records by unbelievable numbers.  The University of Akron is the neutral participant in this story, as being just the host of the Zippy Invitational.  But it's rather ironic that at the basketball games there's an announcement that the school is celebrating Title IX and asking for donations of $900 for womens's sports when they probably will not exist as we know them in the next few years.  Just a few highlights:

500 yard freestyle - Thomas (4:34) broke a meet record by 13 seconds and the pool record by 8.5 seconds, and beat 2nd place by 15 seconds  Remember the names Rocky Laabs (Cincinnati) and Emma Moynihan (Miami), as their names will no longer be mentioned at Ocasek.

200 yard freestyle - Thomas (1:41.9) broke the meet record by 6 seconds and the meet record by 4 seconds, beating 2nd place by 7 seconds.  Akron's own Sadie Fazekas had held the record for 5 years, and Camilla Lins de Melo from Miami's pool record will now just disappear.

1,650 yard freestyle - Thomas (15:59) broke the meet record by over 30 seconds and the pool record by over 20 seconds, and beat 2nd place by 38 seconds.  Who cares about Buffalo's Hannah Miller's 6 year old record for the meet, or Toledo's Claire Lichty's 10 year record in the pool.  They no longer exist.  these are national class swimmers whose records are being erased.  This is not criticism or judgement about the decision made by a young man to transition to a young woman.  It's about the future of women's sports, IMHO.  As a former collegiate swimmer, I know it's not about winning for most of us who competed, it's usually about how well we did against our personal bests.  But even so, every time we enter the pool we believe if we just swim our best, we might still get a position on the podium.  Now that's not even a remote possibility for most, in competition where Thomas is entered.  I don't have an answer, I don't know what the answer is, but I do know, this is not fair.

  • Like 1
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Womens swimming is a sport that stands to see the biggest effect from the policy of allowing transgenders to compete. The longer endurance events will have records obliterated under this scenario. I fail to understand how this all aligns with the goals of Title IX in promoting equality in collegiate sports. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...