Former Penn swimmer Lia Thomas has Olympic goals, says trans women 'not a threat to women's sports'

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Former Penn swimmer Lia Thomas, the focus of a media firestorm this year after transitioning and competing on the women’s team following three years on the men’s team, says she has a goal of competing in the Olympics. 

Thomas sat down with ABC News' Juju Chang for her first televised interview to talk about her controversial season at the University of Pennsylvania, where she became the first transgender woman to win a Division 1 national title. 

"I knew there would be scrutiny against me if I competed as a woman. I was prepared for that but I also don’t need anybody's permission to be myself and do the sport I love," she said in the interview, which aired Tuesday on "Good Morning America."

Thomas, 23, addressed concerns that despite going through a year of hormone therapy, she still had a physical advantage over other female swimmers.

Lia Thomas after winning the Women's 500 Yard Freestyle during the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championship at the McAuley Aquatic Center on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology on March 17, 2022 in Atlanta. (Mike Comer/NCAA Photos via Getty Images, File)

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"There’s a lot of factors that go into a race and how well you do and the biggest change for me is that I’m happy and sophomore year, when I had my best times competing with the men, I was miserable. So having that be lifted is incredibly relieving and allows me to put my all into training and racing," Thomas said. 

"Trans people don't transition for athletics. We transition to be happy and authentic and our true selves.