Female Swimmer Hailed as 'Real Winner' after Transgender Takes First in Championships
UVA's Emma Weyant came second after Lia Thomas in women's national championships
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The female swimmer who came in second after a biological male in the national women's championships has been hailed as the "real winner" by fans.
On Thursday, the University of Virginia’s Emma Weyant came in second to transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in the NCAA Women’s Swimming Championship 500 yard freestyle.
Thomas, who previously competed on the men's team with little success before recently switching to "female" to become a "champion," prompted widespread backlash for crushing the competition in the women's events.
"Round of applause for Emma Weyant, the UVA swimmer who placed second in the 500y freestyle tonight, behind Lia Thomas,” Angela Morabito posted.
"Second is the new first.”
Round of applause for Emma Weyant, the UVA swimmer who placed second in the 500y freestyle tonight, behind Lia Thomas. Second is the new first. #savewomenssports pic.twitter.com/NtHookm3qQ
— Angela Morabito (@AngelaLMorabito) March 18, 2022
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“Congratulations to Emma Weyant for being the real winner of the woman’s 500,” Jake Shields wrote.
Congratulations to Emma Weyant for being the real winner of the woman’s 500 pic.twitter.com/YPJsikJZok
— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) March 18, 2022
"This is Emma Weyant from the University of Virginia,” commented American Principles.
"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.”
This is Emma Weyant from the University of Virginia.
— American Principles 🇺🇸 (@approject) March 18, 2022
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. pic.twitter.com/RbMAT3w2Dz
"Here’s the name you should remember and lobby for: Emma Weyant,” Erik Reed said.
"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.”
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.
— Erik Reed (@ErikReed) March 18, 2022
Weyant’s time was a career best. #TheRealChamp https://t.co/wrsS7Ocf75
"In case you want to know how far gone America is, we just took an NCAA championship away from Olympic individual silver medalist Emma Weyant, a true exemplar of feminine athleticism, and awarded it to someone with a penis who was competing as a men’s swimmer last year,” Jeremy Carl bluntly posted.
In case you want to know how far gone America is, we just took an NCAA championship away from Olympic individual silver medalist Emma Weyant, a true exemplar of feminine athleticism, and awarded it to someone with a penis who was competing as a men's swimmer last year. pic.twitter.com/cYTvOZQVUT
— Jeremy Carl (@jeremycarl4) March 18, 2022
“Emma Weyant won,” Courtney Kirchoff asserted.
"She’s the first female to finish. She didn’t finish in second place.
"She finished first in the women’s 500 Free.”
Emma Weyant won. She's the first female to finish. She didn't finish in second place. She finished first in the women's 500 Free. https://t.co/Ch0agSgpSO
— Courtney Kirchoff (@Courtneyscoffs) March 18, 2022
"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,” wrote Clay Travis.
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. https://t.co/KYYKbIr8nt
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) March 18, 2022
A Virginia Tech swimmer on Thursday spoke out publicly after her teammate was crushed by the “inclusion” of Thomas.
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"I’ve got a teammate who did not make the final today because she was just bumped out of finals,” the collegiate swimmer told Rapid Fire’s Savanah Hernandez.
"It’s heartbreaking to see someone who went through puberty as a male and has the body of a male be able to absolutely blow away the competition.”
"She was very emotional, and it’s hard to see because it’s her last NCAAs; she really loves that race, and it was just heartbreaking that she put all of her efforts into it today … one of the best times that’s she went in a morning session and still not make it back,” she described.
"It’s hard to see someone who works every day and every night still not be able to compete against someone like that.”
