The University of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Department of Education announced an agreement Tuesday that leads to swimmer Lia Thomas being stripped of her school records achieved during the 2021-22 season.
The fate of the NCAA title she won the 500-yard freestyle in 2022 is now in question.
The agreement resolves the investigation launched by the Department of Education in February regarding Penn’s compliance with Title IX. The DOE determined in April that the Ivy League school had violated Title IX, which forbids sex discrimination in sports.
When Thomas competed for Penn’s women’s team — becoming the first openly transgender athlete to claim a national title — the school was in compliance with NCAA eligibility rules.
Thomas also set Penn records in the 100, 200 and 500 free during her lone season competing for Penn’s women’s team. Her successes attracted sharply divergent political opinions — and the Department of Education’s investigation began shortly after President Donald Trump returned to office.
Penn president J. Larry Jamerson released a statement that addressed several aspects of the DOE’s concerns.
“Consistent with the Federal Government’s current interpretation of Title IX and current NCAA policies, we have signed a resolution agreement with the Department of Education that includes the following actions:
“Releasing a public statement reaffirming our commitment to fully comply with Title IX in all of our athletic programs and to continuously adapt our practices as Title IX evolves over time. This includes adhering to definitions of sex — with respect to women’s athletics — that have been set out through two specific Executive Orders.
“While Penn’s policies during the 2021-2022 swim season were in accordance with NCAA eligibility rules at the time, we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules. We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.
“We will review and update the Penn women’s swimming records set during that season to indicate who would now hold the records under current eligibility guidelines.”
On Penn’s women’s swimming page, Thomas’ records have been removed in favor of marks set in 2017, 2024 and 2025. At the bottom of the page, Penn offered this footnote: “Competing under eligibility rules in effect at the time, Lia Thomas set program records in the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle during the 2021-22 season.”
In the 2022 Division I championship meet, Thomas defeated runner-up Emma Weyant of Virginia by 1.75 seconds in the 500 free. Thomas’ winning time of 4:33.24 was more than nine seconds slower than Katie Ledecky’s NCAA and American record set in 2017.
–Field Level Media
