Riley Gaines reflects on when she became advocate for women's sports: 'What in the world are we clapping for?'

Fox News Flash top sports headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

Riley Gaines became the face of fairness in women's sports, but it wasn't exactly in her plans to do so.

Gaines decided to speak out against biological males in women's sports shortly after Lia Thomas, a transgender female, took home the 2022 NCAA Division I title for the 500-yard freestyle.

But earlier that season, Gaines actually had no idea who Thomas was.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines tied for 5th in the 200 Freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia.  (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

In the 2020-21 season, Gaines was ranked seventh in the country. Of course, she wanted to be at the top for her senior season the next year.

Early in the 2021-22 season, Gaines says she was on track to be there, ranking third by mere hundredths of a second. However, she had never heard of the person who was in first place "by body-lengths."

Gaines and her teammates were confused about this mystery swimmer, and she "continued to stay in the dark" until an article revealed Thomas' identity as a biological male.

Ironically, Gaines said she felt a "sense of relief."

"I thought the NCAA would see this how I saw it, how my teammates saw it, how my coaches saw it, how my family saw it, how anyone with any amount of brain activity would probably comprehend this," Gaines told Joe Rogan on his podcast. Nothing hateful about it, nothing even opinionated about it."

However, the NCAA said Thomas' participation in women's events was "non-negotiable,"