Penn Quakers swimmer Lia Thomas wins 200-meter freestyle for 2nd title at Ivy League women's swimming championship

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — University of Pennsylvania senior Lia Thomas won her second title at the Ivy League Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday night at Harvard's Blodgett Pool, setting a meet record in the 200-yard freestyle.

Thomas, a transgender woman, won in 1 minute, 43.12 seconds, nearly 3 seconds faster than Harvard's Samantha Shelton (1:45.82). The Crimson's Molly Hamlin finished third in 1:47.33.

A smiling Shelton extended her hand over the lane line after the race to congratulate Thomas. On the podium, Thomas high-fived and posed with Penn's other two swimmers in the final, sixth-place finisher Bridget O'Leary and seventh-place finisher Margot Kaczorowski.

Thomas' time broke the Ivy League championships record of 1:43.78, set in 2020 by Harvard's Miki Dahlke. Dahlke also held the previous pool record, setting it in 1:45.00 in 2018.

With the 200 free win, Thomas became the first swimmer at the 2022 Ivy championships to win two individual events. On Thursday, Thomas won the 500-yard freestyle in 4:37.32, a pool record.

Thomas' times in winning the Ivy titles are well off her best times of the season. In December at the Zippy Invitational in Akron, Ohio, Thomas set the nation's best times in the 200 (1:41.93) and 500 (4:34.06), qualifying her for the NCAA championships in March in Atlanta.

Since then, Thomas has been at the heart of a debate about who gets to compete, and win, in women's sports. Before competing on the women's team, Thomas spent three seasons on the men's team at Penn. Several of Thomas' teammates have spoken out anonymously, both in support of Thomas and criticizing her inclusion on the women's team. One teammate, Penn senior Andie Myers, has publicly declared her support for Thomas, wearing a