Penn has been one of the epicenters of the debate over transgender athletes due to its handling of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who swam for the Quakers from 2017 to 2022.

Lia Thomas is still a person who swam competitively at Penn. Her best times were a 47.37 in the 100 free; a 1:41.93 in the 200 free; a 4:33.24 in the 500 free; a 9:35.96 in the 1,000 free; and a ...

She swam on the Penn men’s team from the 2017-18 to 2019-20 seasons. By 2021, Thomas met the NCAA hormone therapy requirements to swim on Penn’s women’s team.