A year ago, he was an unknown male swimmer; a year later, he "became" her and became famous in one battle!
From a male athlete to a female athlete, the victory of American transgender swimmer Leah Thomas has caused a lot of controversy.
In the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) women's 500-yard (about 457m) final, which ended on March 18, Beijing time, Thomas easily won the championship with a time of 4:33.24.
The main reason why Thomas's victory caused a sensation was that she was also competing with two runners-up of the Tokyo Olympics. In the pool full of strong players, Thomas braked quickly during the sprint due to the excessive lead, and even so, she was still 1.75 seconds ahead of second-place Emma Weiyant. Weiyant lost the women's 4×100m individual medley final at the Tokyo Olympics and won the silver medal.
Another Olympic champion Thomas defeated was Erica Sullivan, the silver medalist in the women's 1500m freestyle final at the Tokyo Olympics and third in the competition.
Although 500 yards is not the main sport of the two Olympic runners-up, being able to win the championship with a crushing momentum fully proves how obvious Thomas's advantage in the women's swimming arena is.
Before February last year, Thomas was a member of the University of Virginia men's swimming team, and his results were mediocre, and it was difficult to even swim into the second round of the National Championships.
After that, Thomas made the amazing decision to undergo sex reassignment surgery. Although transformed into a daughter body, Thomas must undergo testosterone suppression therapy for one year according to the NCAA regulations.
In February, the NCAA determined that Thomas' indicators had fallen to non-men's levels, and she also received a ticket to the women's game.
After winning the 500-yard race, some spectators booed her, with some calling her a "liar" at the Macaulay Aquatic Center in Atlanta, and questioning her whether she was still a man with a masculine appearance.
In the face of outside controversy, Thomas was frank in an interview: "I try to ignore this, I try to focus on my swimming career and what I need to do to prepare for my race." ”
Cynthia Mirren, who has been in management at the National Swimming Agency for 30 years, reprimanded Thomas for "sabotaging women's swimming" in an interview with the media, and Cynthia Mirren even resigned from the U.S. Swimming Team in protest of Thomas's participation.
Thomas's "turning out" may bring changes to the women's swimming world? In the following competitions, Thomas is likely to be a strong contender for the championship, and becoming the gold queen of the Olympic Games is her goal.
In the women's 1500m freestyle final at the Tokyo Olympics, American Ledecky won the championship and China's Wang Jian Jiahe finished in fourth place. In the 800m freestyle final, it was also Ledecky who won the championship.
In the women's 400m freestyle final at the Tokyo Olympics, Australia's Titmus won the gold medal in 3:56.69 and Li Bingjie finished third in 4:01.08. In the 200m final, the winner was also Titmus, and He Shibei of Hong Kong won the silver medal.
In addition to impacting the gold medals in these individual events, Thomas's "appearance" also brought a glimmer of light to the U.S. women's swimming relay team.
In the women's 4×200m freestyle relay finals of the Tokyo Olympics, the Chinese team led by Zhang Yufei broke the siege between the United States and Australia and won the gold medal. Prior to that, in the six Olympic Games, the United States and Australia won gold medals in the event.
Objectively speaking, the appearance of Thomas will significantly improve the performance of the American team, after all, she was once a male player, hoping that the Chinese team can also train hard, continue to create the best results, and in the Paris Olympic Games two years later, once again!