ATLANTA (AP) — Lia Thomas took control in the final 100 yards of the 500-yard freestyle to make history Thursday as the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming championship.
Thomas, the University of Pennsylvania senior who swam at Penn State as a male, had a season-best time of 4 minutes, 33.24 seconds.
Virginia’s Emma Weyant was second at 4:34.99.
The race was close until the final 100 yards, with Weyant and Erica Sullivan of Texas pushing Thomas for the lead.
As was the case in Thursday morning in a preliminary win, Thomas was stronger at the end.
She won the preliminary race at 4:33.82.
