Image Credit: Hunter Martin/Getty Images 
Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas has defended competing in the female category and claims she does not care about winning, despite regularly wiping the floor with opponents who were born girls.
Lia transitioned from male to female and is now competing for UPenn’s women’s team.
Her participation in the team has been widely criticized by people who say she has an unfair physical advantage.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated that was published on Thursday, she defended her place in the team.
Parents of her teammates told the magazine however that she is ‘eliminating women from the sport’.
‘I’m a woman, just like anybody else on the team. I’ve always viewed myself as just a swimmer. It’s what I’ve done for so long; it’s what I love.
Her participation in the team has been widely criticized by people who say she has an unfair physical advantage.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated that was published on Thursday, she defended her place in the team.
Parents of her teammates told the magazine however that she is ‘eliminating women from the sport’.
‘I’m a woman, just like anybody else on the team. I’ve always viewed myself as just a swimmer. It’s what I’ve done for so long; it’s what I love.