This week, GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO) announced she is leading a resolution in the House of Representatives to recognize Emma Weyant as the “rightful winner” of the NCAA women’s 500-yard freestyle race. This month, Weyant came in second place to William “Lia” Thomas, a biological male, as Rebecca covered.
Weyant, an Olympic silver medalist, swims for the University of Virginia. She lost the 500-yard freestyle race to Thomas by less than two seconds, Fox News reported.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Boebert said that “a man improperly took the first place title from Emma.”
“When it comes to competitive sports, biology should really triumph (over) ideology,” Boebert said in the interview. “I truly believe in giving honor where honor is due and Emma is absolutely worthy of honor.”
Boebert reportedly has not met Weyant and they have not spoken. However, Boebert told Fox that she was driven to author the resolution.
As Townhall covered, Thomas competed on the men’s swim team at UPenn for three years. An anonymous female UPenn swimmer told The Washington Examiner in an interview earlier this year that Thomas “was not even close to being competitive" as a male athlete.
"Mediocre male athletes who want first place rather than 450th should simply try harder and not to pretend to be something that they're not," Boebert said of Thomas’ rankings while competing on the men’s swim team.
This month, Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis announced shortly after Thomas’ NCAA victory that his state would recognize runner-up Emma Weyant, a Sarasota native, as the real winner.
“By allowing men to compete in women's sports, the NCAA is destroying opportunities for women, making a mockery of its championships, and perpetuating a fraud,” DeSantis wrote in a tweet with the announcement. “In Florida, we reject these lies and recognize Sarasota's Emma Weyant as the best women's swimmer in the 500y freestyle.”
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