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In an exclusive interview with OutKick, a biological female member of the Penn women’s swimming said she believes her teammate, transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, colluded with Yale transgender swimmer Iszac Henig, who’s transitioning from female to male, during a 100 freestyle race on January 8.
The swimmer, granted anonymity due to what is viewed as threats from the university, activists, and the current political climate, believes Thomas, who has reportedly been comparing herself to Jackie Robinson, and Henig cooked up a plan before a Penn home tri-meet with Yale and Dartmouth.
"Looking at [Lia’s] time, I don’t think she was trying," the Penn swimmer alleges. "I know they’re friends and I know they were talking before the meet. I think she let her win to prove the point that, ‘Oh see, a female-to-male beat me.'"
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Lia Thomas of the Pennsylvania Quakers swims in the 500 yard freestyle event during a tri-meet against the Yale Bulldogs and the Dartmouth Big Green at Sheerr Pool on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania on January 8, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
When pressed on if she flat-out thought it was collusion, the Penn swimmer seemed convinced.
"I do. I can’t say for sure, but I wouldn’t be shocked if I found out that was 100% true," Thomas’ teammate said.
In the 100 freestyle race, Henig finished with a time of 49.57; Thomas touched the wall in 52.84. During a November tri-meet with Princeton and Cornell, Thomas swam the 100 freestyle in 49.42.
The anonymous Penn swimmer also accuses Thomas of mailing it in during the January 8 200 freestyle race that the transgender swimmer (1:48:73) won by two seconds.
"I was on deck and said to a friend, ‘She’s literally not trying.’ You could just tell," OutKick’s source said. "It was blatantly obvious. I was watching the 200 free and she was literally keeping pace with the other girls.
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UPenn Swimmer Lia Thomas (Fox News Digital)
"She was No. 1 in the country at one point. These are definitely talented swimmers, but they’re not the caliber of being at the top in the country or anything like that."
The Penn female swimmer acknowledged that the team wasn’t 100% after traveling to Florida after the holidays for training, but noted that the training shouldn’t have made such a difference in Thomas’ performance.
"You can tell when someone is dying and they’re swimming slow," the swimmer added. "You can also tell when someone is not trying and I could see [in the 200 freestyle] that Lia was not trying."
Thomas, who has already qualified for the women’s NCAA championships in the 200 & 500 freestyle, was also accused by those in attendance of "coasting" and "barely trying" in the 500 freestyle race that Thomas won by one second.
OutKick’s source within the swim team also noted that the Thomas drama doesn’t end there. She says that the Penn Florida trip traveling party included two private security guards — one male and one female who were described as likely being ex-SWAT — and special instructions by the school to avoid wearing Penn gear as to not cause possible confrontation with people who may be following the Thomas story. Since most of their gear has Penn splashed across the front, teammates reportedly resorted to covering up logos with tape.
Lia Thomas swims for Penn. (Penn Athletics)
The only team member to ignore the school’s advisory? Lia Thomas, according to the source.
"It was crazy. People were wearing shirts with Duct Tape on them and had bags duct-taped while Lia was wearing gear with big letters," the annoyed teammate told OutKick.
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Penn’s swim season continues Saturday with a dual meet on the road at Harvard.
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