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The University of Pennsylvania took SWIFT actions on Tuesday to comply with the decision-making agreement obtained with the US Department of Civil Rights Education Office after an investigation found that UPENN violated title IX in the 2021-22 season due to the inclusion of transgender Swimmer Lia Thomas.
As part of this decision, Upenn accepted to restore individual titles and items to the female athletes who were “wrongly used by male athletes who were allowed to compete in female categories.”
Transgender Swimmer Lia Thomas, Left, from the University of Pennsylvania stands on the podium after winning 500-yard freestyle like other medals, from left to right, Emma Weyant, Erica Sullivan and Brooke Forde posing for a photo in the NCAA Division in Women’s Swimming & Diving Champion Champed the 1722 in the ATLANTA. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
While the university’s site was updated to remove Thomas ‘name from a trio of items, the former swimming set during this season, the site still recognized Thomas’ record with a note on NCAA eligibility rules at that time.
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“Note: Competition under justification rules that apply at that time, Lia Thomas program records set the 100, 200 and 500 season during the 2021-22 season,” the annotation reads.
Thomas became the first open transient athlete to won a NCAA Division in title. During the competition, Thomas set several individual records, including 500-Yard Freestyle Race, resulting in a national title.
According to UPENN’s web site, Anna Kalandadze’s record of 4: 37.21 was set in 2024 in 500 Free Restored as the new record. Kayla Fu, a beginner at Upenn, had his 2025 record in the 100 free recovered as the new record.
Transgender -Aatle Lia Thomas looks at after winning the women’s 500 yard freestyle during the NCAA Division in Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship in the McAuley Aquatic Center at Campus in the Georgia Institute of Technology on March 17, 2022 in Atlanta. (Mike Comer/NCAA -Photos via Getty Images)
Sec McMahon opens up to historically Upenn -title IX agreement and next step in battle to save women’s sports
In addition, former Upenn swimmer Virginia Burns, who set the 200 free record with a time of 1: 45.51 in 2017, had its record restored as the top time.
The Education Department previously launched a study of Upenn on February 6th. Trump administration later froze $ 175 million in financing to the school on March 20, not to comply with a executive order. Then, on April 28, the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights announced that its study concluded that Upenn violated the Title IX in his handling of the Thomas situation.
As a result of this week’s decision agreement, Upenn agreed to restore items and issue excuses to female athletes affected by these violations.
Pennsylvania’s Lia Thomas cheering for teammates competing in the 1650-yard freestyle final in the Ivy League swimming and diving championships at Harvard on Saturday, February 19, 2022 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
“While Penn’s policy during the 2021-2022 swimming season was in line with NCAA eligibility rules at the time, we recognize that some student athletes were poorly placed by these rules,” said Penn President J. Larry Jameson in a statement released by the university on Tuesday.
“We acknowledge this and will apologize for those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies applicable at that time.”
