Lia Thomas finishes last place in the 100-yard freestyle final at NCAA championships

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Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania whose participation on the women’s team sparked national headlines this season, finished last place in the 100-yard freestyle final at the NCAA women’s swimming championships in Georgia on Saturday night.

Virginia freshman Gretchen Walsh set a new pool and program record with her first-place time of 46.05, followed by Alabama senior Morgan Scott and North Carolina State junior Katherine Berkoff with times of 46.78 and 46.95, respectively. 

TWO-TIME OLYMPIC MEDALIST TAYLOR RUCK WINS 200 FREESTYLE AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS, LIA THOMAS FINISHES FIFTH 

Thomas, who set a program record with her victory in 500 free on Thursday, finished dead last with a time of 48.18, despite entering the finals with the fourth-fastest time.

Thomas’s loss comes amid a national debate over the NCAA’s transgender policy.

Pennsylvania's Lia Thomas waits for a preliminary heat in the Women's NCAA 500 meter freestyle swimming championship start Thursday, March 17, 2022, in at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

The NCAA updated its policy in January to defer to the guidance of each sport’s governing body. The NCAA announced that its policy would become effective in March, starting with the Division I women’s swimming and diving championships.

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USA Swimming updated its policy shortly after requiring transgender athletes who are competing at an elite level to have small levels of testosterone — half of what Thomas was allowed to compete with — for at least 36 months before being eligible. But the NCAA said weeks later that the administrative