Lia Thomas win at NCAA women's swimming championships in Atlanta draws protesters

ATLANTA – Women’s rights protesters were furious after trans athlete Lia Thomas was dubbed a women's NCAA swimming champion on Thursday. 

"There's a man, called Will Thomas, who's changed his name to Lia Thomas, who is competing in women's swimming," Kellie-Jay Keen, head of the organization Standing for Women, said in an interview with Fox News outside the Georgia Tech athletic center where the competition is being held.

"Women aren't considered full humans," she continued. "We can't be – otherwise there wouldn't be an opportunity for men to compete in women's sports." 

"Women aren't considered full humans. We can't be – otherwise there wouldn't be an opportunity for men to compete in women's sports." 

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Thomas, 22, of the University of Pennsylvania, won the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships on Thursday, becoming the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship in any sport. 

The UPenn athlete is also scheduled to swim in the 200-yard and 100-yard freestyle heats this weekend. 

Transgender athlete Lia Thomas, left, of the University of Pennsylvania, stands on the podium after winning the 500-yard freestyle as other medalists – from second left, Emma Weyant, Erica Sullivan and Brooke Forde – pose for a photo at the NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, March 17, 2022 in Atlanta. (Getty Images)

"This is a male displacing women," Annabelle Rutledge, Concerned Women for America director, told Fox News. "The female who came in second today is the real winner." 

"Only women can win a women's swimming and diving championship," she continued.

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