Swimmer Lia Thomas breaks silence about backlash, future plans

Lia Thomas of the Pennsylvania Quakers during a meet against the Brown Bears at Sheerr Pool on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, Nov. 16, 2019 in Philadelphia.

Hunter Martin/Getty Images, FILE

Lia Thomas, a transgender woman who generated controversy by competing on the women’s swim team at University of Pennsylvania, said she plans to keep swimming, with an eye on the Olympics.

“I intend to keep swimming,” Thomas told ABC News’ Juju Chang in an interview that aired Tuesday on “Good Morning America.” “It’s been a goal of mine to swim at Olympic trials for a very long time, and I would love to see that through.”

Thomas, of Austin, Texas, won gold in the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA championships in March, becoming the first female swimmer in Penn’s history to win an individual national title, according to the university.

After competing for three years on Penn’s men’s swimming team, Thomas also made history in that race as the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA division title in any sport.

“It was a goal of mine to be at that meet and do as well as I could,” said Thomas, who competed in three races at the championships. “So to be able to fulfill that personal goal and be at that meet as well as the sort of fulfillment of competing as my authentic self was just such an amazing experience, to have these things that I’ve been working towards for so long all come together.”

PHOTO: Lia Thomas of the University of Pennsylvania Quakers dives in at the start of the 100 Yard Freestyle during the Division I Women's Swimming & Diving Championships held at the McAuley Aquatic Center, March 19, 2022, in Atlanta.

Lia Thomas of the University of Pennsylvania Quakers dives in at the start of the 100 Yard Freest..
Mike Comer/NCAA Photos via Getty Images, FILE

Assigned male at birth, Thomas said she fell in love with swimming at age 4, but as she grew older she said she felt increasingly disconnected to her body, explaining, “I didn’t feel like I was a boy.”

“When I was a young kid, my mom always would describe me as a very happy kid,” said Thomas. “And then sort of in middle school and high school, as I, like, went through puberty, that shifted a little bit, with gender dysphoria from being trans, but I didn’t have, I didn’t yet know or have the language to describe that.”