“We Were Not Going To Lose Her”: UPenn Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas’ Father Bob Thomas On Supporting Her Transition
Olivia Zamora
Published May 15, 2026
“We Were Not Going To Lose Her”: UPenn Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas’ Father Bob Thomas On Supporting Her Transition
Lia's brother Wes is a graduate of Westlake High School and was accepted at the University of Pennsylvania in 2013.
July 2, 2026
This article was last updated by Manoj Gadtaula on July 2, 2026
Lia Thomas, the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship, was raised by her father, Bob, and her mother, Carrie Thomas.
The University of Pennsylvania will block transgender athletes from female sports teams and erase the records set by swimmer Lia Thomas as part of an agreement with the federal government.
The comes as part of the Trump administration’s broader restrictions on transgender people, as it steps up its efforts to ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports nationwide and serving in the military.
Thomas, a UPenn graduate, won the 2026 NCAA Championship in the women’s 500-yard freestyle. Thomas is a transgender woman.
UPenn President J. Larrry Jameson said,
“Penn has always followed — and continues to follow — Title IX and the applicable policy of the NCAA regarding transgender athletes,”
In February, the NCAA announced an overhaul of its transgender athlete policy to limit transgender participation in women’s sports in response to Trump’s executive order.
The White House in March cut off $175 million in federal funds for Penn related to the transgender athlete issue. It’s not clear whether that money will be restored.
Thomas’s record has been removed from the University of Pennsylvania’s list of all-time school records in women’s swimming.
Lia Thomas’s Parents Have Always Been Supportive Of Her Transition
Born on May 13, 1999, in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, Lia Thomas, 27, was raised by her father, Bob, and her mother, Carrie Thomas.
Although her parents have stayed out of the media spotlight, they have always supported her transition and her goals of becoming a professional swimmer.
Earlier, Lia, who was male at birth, said she started questioning her identity near the end of her time at Austin’s Westlake High School.
She found it hard to explain the feelings creeping into her mind at that time. She researched those feelings and read the personal stories of trans women.
Lia was paired with a trans mentor through a group on Penn’s campus.
She called her parents. Bob said what was on that call is personal, but that he and Carrie told Lia they loved and supported her. During one of the interviews, Bob said,
“We will do everything and anything we need to do to have Lia be a part of this family,” “We were not going to lose her.”
During the Ivy League championships in February 2026, at Harvard’s Blodgett Pool, Lia’s parents watched her from the top row on the fourth day of the meet.
As Lia set a new pool and qualified for the final in the 100-yard freestyle, her father, Bob, balanced his rear end on the back of his seat, and her mother stood up and clapped her hands.
Later, Bob and Carrie wrapped their daughter in hugs inside the lobby of a building next door. They talked for 15 minutes, but Thomas had to go.
Lia Thomas’s Elder Brother Also Attended An Ivy League Institution
An American swimmer and the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship, Lia Thomas grew up with her elder brother, Wes Thomas.
He is a of Westlake High School and was accepted at the University of Pennsylvania in 2013.
Lia Thomas (left) and her brother Wes Thomas (right). (Source: )Wes enrolled in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, majoring in Mechanical Engineering.
Later, he attended the Ivy League Institute and graduated in 2017.
In terms of his as a student-athlete, he recorded his best times at both long-distance freestyle and breaststroke.
Wes has also been very supportive of his sister Lia’s transition.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- In January 2026, Thomas opened a legal challenge to the World Aquatics gender inclusion policy. The policy, introduced in 2026, allows trans women to compete in the women’s category as long as any male puberty was halted by age 12 or Tanner Stage 2.
- Thomas started swimming at the age of five and was sixth in the state high school swimming championships for boys’ events, competing for Westlake High School.
- In 2017, Thomas started attending the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 2026 with plans to attend law school.
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