Leah Thomas has been nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award

The University of Pennsylvania has nominated trans swimmer Leah Thomas, a biological male, for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Woman of the Year Award.

Thomas was one of 577 candidates selected from nearly 223,000 female athletes nationwide.

The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors “student athletes who have exhausted their values ​​and excelled in their communities, athletes, and academia throughout their college careers.”

NCAA member schools may nominate a maximum of two cadets for the award, but if two nominees are nominated, one must be “an international cadet or student athlete of color.”

As Title IX turns 50 in 2022, the NCAA honored the top 30 nominees and determined the winner at its annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas in January.

With no big record against male cadets, Thomas made headlines this year after taking first place in the women’s 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Swimming Championships.

Leah Thomas took first place in the 500-meter freestyle at the 2022 NCAA Division 1 Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. #SaveWomen’s Sports pic.twitter.com/UWvDQMYHRJ

– Colin Wright (@SwipeWright) 17 March 2022

Thomas’ performance surprised critics, politicians and teammates. In an anonymous letter to UPenn and the Ivy League, 16 of Thomas’ classmates complained of his “unfair advantage over his female competitors.”

“Biologically, Leah has an unfair advantage over her competitors in the women’s category, as evidenced by her jumping from 462nd place among men to 1st place in women,” the letter said.

“You could say he’s mentally ill,” said another teammate.

“You could say she’s mentally ill. I watched the video and I felt so bad. Leah introduced herself as a woman, but she’s not a woman,” a teammate said. “It’s a fact. It doesn’t matter how you feel. ”

Women’s tennis legend Martina Navratilova said Thomas’ name should be followed by “star”.

“This isn’t about excluding trans women from winners,” Navratilova said. “But it’s about not letting them win when they’re not close to winning as men.”

“But now the rules are what they are,” he continued. “Maybe put an asterisk there if it starts breaking records left and right.”

The 577 NCAA Woman of the Year nominees represent female athletes from 23 sports from Division I, Division II, and Division III.