Meet the REAL winner: University of Virginia swimmer Emma Weyant who is Olympic silver medalist is hailed as a heroine on social media after coming second in NCAA championships to controversial trans rival Lia Thomas
- Emma Weyant, 20, from Florida, came second in Thursday night's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 500 yard freestyle final
- Weyant, who races for the University of Virginia, won silver at last year's 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 400-meter Individual Medley
- Thursday's race was won by Lia Thomas, 22 - the first transgender athlete to be crowned NCAA champion
- Thomas's victory was greeted with a notable lack of cheers in the stands, amid the controversy: she competed in men's competition until 2019
- Thomas was given her medal on the podium amid some boos and some cheers: by contrast, Weyant was given a huge cheer at her crowning
- Thomas told ESPN after the race that she tried to drown out the controversy and focus on her swimming
- Weyant has been inundated with support on social media, with many crowning her the true champion
The college swimmer who came second to transgender athlete Lia Thomas on Thursday night has been praised as a heroine, with many on social media calling Emma Weyant the real winner.
Weyant, 20, from Florida, races for the University of Virginia and represented Team USA at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics - winning silver in the 400-meter Individual Medley.
She was beaten on Thursday night by Thomas, 22 - who became the first transgender athlete to win a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) swimming championship.
Her controversial victory attracted a mixed reception, with boos heard ringing out among a smattering of cheers as Thomas was handed her trophy.
The UPenn swimmer won the 500 yard freestyle in Atlanta in a time of 4 minutes, 33.24 seconds on Thursday evening.
Just before Lia was crowned, the crowd were notably more enthusiastic when cheering for Weyant. She swam 4:34.99.
Lia Thomas, left, is seen on the podium on Thursday night as second placed Emma Weyant celebrates with Erica Sullivan (third) and Brooke Forde (fourth)
Weyant beams as she is applauded for her second place in Thursday's race
Thomas, 22, is seen immediately after her historic victory - which was greeted with silence by the crowd
Weyant is seen on July 25, 2021, with her silver medal from the Tokyo Olympics
Weyant, from Florida, is seen in her most recent Instagram post. She has not spoken about the controversy around Thomas's participation
While Thomas was given some cheers, boos could also be heard ringing out throughout the spectator stands, as she continues to face allegations that going through male puberty has given her an unfair advantage over her rivals.
Weyant is seen at the Golden Goggle Awards for swimmers on December 7
'I try to ignore it as much as I can, I try to focus on my swimming what I need to do to get ready for my races and I just try to block out everything else,' said Thomas after the race, when asked by ESPN about the response.
'It means the world to be here, to be with two of my best friend and teammates and be able to compete.'
On social media, Weyant attracted widespread praise.
'Round of applause for Emma Weyant, the UVA swimmer who placed second in the 500y freestyle tonight, behind Lia Thomas,' tweeted Angela Morabito, a press secretary for the Department of Education during the Trump administration.
'Second is the new first. #savewomenssports'
The American Principles project tweeted: 'This is Emma Weyant from the University of Virginia.
'She finished in second place to Lia Thomas in the women's 500 Free at the NCAA national championships.
'But she's the true winner to all of us.'
Weyant, 20, cuts a glamorous figure on social media
Weyant in March 2021 - four months before the Olympics - posted a photo of her relaxing from training, captioned: 'Wish you were here!'
Talk radio host Clay Travis said: 'Congrats to Virginia freshman Emma Weyant, the woman who would have won tonight's NCAA title in the 500 meter if women's sports were still sane.'
Evangelical pastor Erik Reed said: 'Here's the name you should remember and lobby for: Emma Weyant.
'She's at UVA. She finished second place, but would have been first place if people had the courage to speak up about the injustice of a MAN competing against women.
'Weyant's time was a career best. #TheRealChamp'
One person photoshopped the University of Virginia's announcement to show that it pronounced Weyant as the winner.
'Don't worry Virginia. I fixed it for you!' he said.
Thomas, whose continued wins and record-breaking performances have made her the world's most controversial athlete, swam for three years on the university's men's team before transitioning in 2019.
Thomas has undergone the required hormone treatment to meet the current rules for transgender athletes, but critics say her stunning performances prove that she still retains a considerable and unfair advantage.
The NCAA celebrated Thomas's victory on social media, crowning the new national champion
Thomas is seen beaming after winning the heat of the 500 yard race
Lia Thomas is seen swimming for the University of Pennsylvania on Thursday, at the NCAA championships in Atlanta, Georgia. She has become the first transgender athlete to win a NCAA final
Thomas, 22, is seen ahead of her heat on Thursday, which she also won - making her top seed for the final
'It's not necessarily an achievement in my mind,' said one of Thomas' teammates on UPenn's Women's Swim Team.
The teammate, who refused to give her name for fear of repercussions, told Fox News Digital that Thomas's participation in D1-sanctioned women's events has 'completely ruined the integrity of the sport.'
She said Thomas' achievements while on the women's team should be taken with a grain of salt, due to the biological advantages of being born a man.
'It's its own distinct category because no woman is going to be as fast as a man, and here, is just completely - we're just throwing away the definition of a record to fit into someone else's agenda of what it should mean to them,' she said.
'In reality, it makes no scientific sense to do so.'
Thomas, who also smoked fellow swimmers at last month's Ivy League championships, scored the best time at the event - 4 minutes, 33.82 seconds - five seconds faster than the runner-up, earning her a spot in Thursday's final
Thomas is one of more than 300 swimmers who qualified for the NCAA championships this week, after securing a trio of records at the Ivy League Championships last month in the 100, 200, and 500 yard freestyle events.
Thomas is set to compete in those same events at this week's NCAA championships.
In two of them, she ranks first in the country.
'It's still just disappointing to know that the NCAA lacks the courage to do the right thing,' said Thomas' teammate.
The NCAA leadership decided in January to amend its policies concerning trans athletes, to allow each sport's governing body to discern whether an athlete is eligible to compete.
Under the new guidance, Thomas was allowed by USA Swimming to compete as a woman because she has completed a year of hormone treatment. Shortly thereafter, USA Swimming announced a new requirement that transgender women must suppress their testosterone levels for three years before competing - a rule which would have seen Thomas excluded from future female competitions.
It appeared at the time that Thomas would be barred from the NCAA championships as a result, after the NCAA's assertion that they would abide by USA Swimming rules.
But just before last month's Ivy League competition, the NCAA backtracked on its decision, saying that instituting a new policy in the middle of the season would be unfair - allowing Thomas to compete at that competition as well as this month's championships.
Her continued participation in women's competition has proved deeply divisive, with former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner - who won gold in the decathlon as Bruce Jenner - among those criticizing Thomas for swimming in women's races.
Earlier this month, a Sports Illustrated feature on Thomas revealed that about 'half the team opposes her competing against other women.'
In the piece published March 3, sources close to Penn's team said that out of 37 total members of the squad, only six to eight were 'adamant supporters' of the senior standout.
Meanwhile, roughly half of the team, author Robert Sanchez wrote, 'opposes her competing against other women.'
The remaining members 'have steered clear of the debate,' Sanchez noted.
One of the opposition, the unnamed student who spoke to Fox, said that while many support Thomas and her journey as a swimmer and a person, she could not stand by a decision that would put her and other women at a disadvantage.
'I think if Lia were to break an Olympian's record, it would cause a lot of damage to the sport and to women, and I think it would cause more people to come out [against the guidelines], people that were afraid to speak before,' the student said.
The win saw the transgender woman, who swam for three years on the university's men's team before transitioning in 2019, move a step closer to becoming the first transgender athlete to win a NCAA championship - a distinction Thomas' teammate said would be dubious if achieved
'I think there's a way where you can still be your authentic self and be who you are and swim as who you are while not competing against women,' the student told Fox News.
'If you had compassion for your teammates or women at all, you would admit you have an unfair advantage and not do this to women.'
She continued: 'I don't understand how we could have been more supportive as a team.
'But I will not back down, and my teammates and women across the country should not be told to back down from speaking their mind about an issue that so heavily affects them.
'They're being discriminated against.
'Women's rights are being violated.'
The record-smashing showings saw Thomas come under national scrutiny, with many protesting decisions that allowed her to compete in women's events. Pictured here is a group that formed outside Georgia Tech Thursday during the women's competition
Protesters in Atlanta flocked Thursday to Georgia Tech University to voice their opposition towards Thomas' participation in the current NCAA championship
The swimmer's continued participation in the women's competition has proved deeply divisive, with many - including some of Thomas' teammates - calling for the NCAA to bar transgender athletes from competing in women's competitions
'This whole season has been about her. Everything this whole season has been about Lia, and we've all sacrificed everything, our entire livelihoods we've sacrificed. How much more should we be willing to sacrifice for Lia?
'I'm not willing to sacrifice anything else. We've already sacrificed team morale and the way that people look at our team success and have the media, to that aspect, thrown in.'
Thomas, now a senior, entered the NCAA women's swimming and diving championships as the top seed in the 500, after dominating performances at last month's Ivy League championships that saw her break six records at the storied competition.
The record-smashing showings saw Thomas come under national scrutiny, with many protesting decisions that allowed her to compete in women's events.
Protesters in Atlanta flocked Thursday outside Georgia Tech University to voice their opposition towards Thomas' participation in the current NCAA championship.
Thomas, 22, is allowed to compete as a woman because she has completed a year of hormone treatment
Thomas' continued participation in women's competition has proved deeply divisive, with former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner - who won gold in the decathlon as Bruce Jenner - among those criticizing Thomas for swimming in women's races
Thomas' teammate, meanwhile, said that while she's hopeful for this year's swim season, she is concerned that Thomas' continued participation has permanently damaged the sport she loves.
'This will still haunt us in the fact that pool and team records have been broken unfairly and in an illegitimate way.
'We're supposed to look up at the record board and see Lia's name and somewhere accept that.'
She then declared: 'It completely ruins the integrity of the school.'
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