(Lausanne) The case of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who challenged the regulations preventing her from participating in competitions reserved for elite women, was refused, since the judges determined that it had no legal basis valid.
The three-judge panel of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) therefore rejected Thomas’ request for arbitration in concert with World Aquatics, in a judgment published on Wednesday.
World Aquatics bans women who were male at the time of puberty from competing in events reserved for elite women. The world’s swimming governing body has also created an “open” category in which transgender athletes can compete.
Thomas had asked Swiss sports courts to overturn a decision approved in 2022 that she considered invalid, illegal and discriminatory.
Thomas has represented the University of Pennsylvania and won the U.S. collegiate title in events that are not sanctioned by World Aquatics, an organization where she is not registered.
“The committee concludes that she did not have the necessary legal grounds to challenge the regulation as well as the operational requirements in the current procedure,” read the court judgment.
The judges noted that USA Swimming does not have the authority “to modify such an important procedure” enshrined in the World Aquatics regulations.
The organization said it welcomed the CAS’s decision in a case “that will have a major impact in our mission to protect women’s sport.”
