A Virginia Tech swimmer and 2016 Olympian took a swipe at the NCAA over its policy on transgender athletes.
Reka Gyorgy issued a statement after failing to qualify for the finals at the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. She placed 17th in the event and only the first 16 finishers are eligible to compete.
In her statement, Gyorgy said she wanted to address “something that is a problem” in the sport that is hurting athletes, especially female swimmers.
Mentioning Lia Thomas, Gyorgy explained the transgender swimmer is “convinced that she is no different than me or any D1 swimmer who has woken up at 5am her entire life for morning practice.”
Her statement continues, “She has sacrificed family vacations and holidays for a competition. She has pushed herself to the limit to be the best athlete she could be. She is doing what she is passionate about and deserves that right.”
Still, Gyorgy said she would “like to critique the NCAA rules that allow her to compete against us, who are biologically women.”
She added, “I’m writing this letter now in the hopes that the NCAA will open their eyes and change these rules in the future. It doesn’t promote our sport in a good way and I think it is disrespectful against the biologically female swimmers who are competing in the NCAA.”
Read Gyorgy’s statement below:
Virginia Tech swimmer Reka Gyorgy has released a full statement on the NCAA allowing Lia Thomas to compete in the 500 freestyle. She was 17th in the event.
— Kyle Sockwell (@kylesockwell) March 20, 2022
“Every event that transgender athletes participated in was one spot taken away from biological females throughout the meet” pic.twitter.com/Z0J9lUY3pN
Expressing her frustration with the policy, Gyorgy continued, “It feels like that final spot was taken away from me because of the NCAA’s decision to let someone who is not a biological female compete.”
According to the organization’s policy, a transgender female “treated with testosterone suppression medication may continue to compete on a men’s team but may not compete on a women’s team without changing it to a mixed team status until completing one year of testosterone suppression treatment.”
The Hill reported Thomas has been taking gender-affirming hormones for more than two and a half years. Last week, Thomas became the first known transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming championship.
