'I was terrified': Olympic swimmer says Lia Thomas bumped into her with 'his male genitalia' in NCAA locker room



2016 Olympian and former NCAA swimmer Reka Gyorgy recalled a terrifying experience she had during an interaction with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.

Thomas, who previously went by Luke, was a men's NCAA swimmer who was ranked 554 against men before allegedly becoming female, after which he won an NCAA championship.

Thomas sparked worldwide controversy that eventually led to rule changes that prevent men from competing against women in swimming at elite-level meets, including the Olympics.

Gyorgy has since released a video detailing her experience when running into Thomas at the NCAA championships in the women's locker room.

In the video, provided to Blaze News by women's advocacy group ICONS, Gyorgy recalled seeing Thomas in the change room.

"I opened the locker room door and was about to turn around ... when I physically bumped into Thomas," she explained.

The 5'9" swimmer said she was surprised by the stature of Thomas, whose genitals then made contact with her.

"I was shocked by his size. He was about six foot, four inches tall. I was shocked that as he bumped into me, his male genitalia was touching my hand that was stuck between us as he was leaving the locker room."

"I couldn't even say sorry; I froze," Gyorgy said. "He just smiled at me and said 'sorry,' in a male voice."

The former All-American athlete complained that female swimmers didn't even get their own locker room at the championship event and revealed that she was "repeatedly" looking over her shoulder while she was changing.

"I was terrified knowing he could walk in on me at any second as I changed into my swimsuit and the private areas of my body would be exposed to this man."

Your browser does not support the video tag. Video courtesy Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS)

Gyorgy told Blaze News that she never spoke to Thomas again apart from that incident.

The Hungarian joins other former NCAA swimmers, like Riley Gaines, who have spoken out about interactions with Thomas.

"Top eight women in the entire country, and you’ve got a 6'4" man in a women's swimsuit with the bulge next to a woman wearing only a Speedo with nothing covering her top," Gaines told Joe Rogan in May 2024.

Gaines added that when she actually tied Thomas in a race, there was only one trophy and it went to the male athlete. Gaines recalled asking an official why Thomas was the one getting the trophy:

"His face changed, he looked sad, his voice changed. I could tell he didn't even believe what he was about to say, but this official looked at me and said, 'Riley, I am so sorry, but we have been advised as an organization that when photos are being taken, it's crucial that the trophy is in Lia's hands.'"

Gyorgy is now the director of operations for the swim and dive teams at Virginia Tech.

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At least 4 Olympic swimmers, including 2 Americans, test positive for COVID-19 but aren't sent home



Multiple swimmers, including two Americans, have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 but haven't been required to withdraw.

Unlike previous years, the virus reportedly is being treated similarly to other respiratory viruses, multiple outlets report.

'They are following all the protocols that we have.'

According to outlet SwimSwam, American swimmers David Johnston and Luke Whitlock tested positive for COVID-19, and they were moved to a hotel off Olympic grounds where they will isolate. Coaches reportedly are closely monitoring the whole team since the two swimmers were staying in an Olympic Village apartment with five other teammates.

Johnston has a few days to recover for his Saturday event, the men's 1500-meter freestyle.

Whitlock already competed in his only event, the men's 800-meter freestyle; he placed 15th. He is experiencing only mild symptoms, which allegedly include a cough, an insider stated.

A USA Swimming spokesperson told SwimSwam there is no mandatory masking or testing in place for American swimmers.

"We encourage our athletes to do whatever makes them the most comfortable, working with the team doctors," communications director Jake Grosser said.

British 100-meter swimmer Adam Peaty tested positive Sunday night after winning a silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke.

"My heart is full," Peaty said after the event on an X post, which includes photos of him and his family.

Yahoo Sports noted that Peaty swam more than two seconds slower than his personal best, speculating that the virus had an impact on his performance.

The outlet also reported a noticeable number of coaches and staff wearing masks around the pool Tuesday morning, apparently due to concern over contracting COVID-19 with the virus seemingly spreading.

Australian athletes appear to have had a more devastating run-in with the virus at the Olympics.

After testing positive, 1500-meter competitor Lani Pallister withdrew from her freestyle heat Tuesday. Nearly a week prior, it was officially announced in an Olympics press release that five members of the Australian women's water polo team also tested positive but were not forced to withdraw.

Australian Olympic team head Anna Meares said, "If those five athletes are feeling well enough to train, they will, and they are following all the protocols that we have." Meares also said the entire team had been tested.

The team representative noted that the athletes have been isolating from other team members, but only when not training, and that they have been wearing masks.

The treatment of COVID-19 in Paris contrasts starkly from previous games, such as the 2022 Beijing Olympics during which staff, athletes, and anyone else in a country's bubble were tested daily.

As CNN reported at the time, fans from outside China were banned, and all athletes were required to be fully vaccinated or placed in quarantine for 21 days upon arrival in the country.

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'I'm so proud to be American': Olympic swimmer Regan Smith says it 'never gets old' to represent the United States



American swimmer Regan Smith showed a tremendous amount of national pride after setting the world record for the 100-meter backstroke.

The Olympic silver medalist set two personal bests at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials in Indianapolis en route to qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. She dominated the 100- and 200-meter backstroke, along with the 200-meter fly event.

The 22-year-old, who said she wears her heart on her sleeve, may be one of the most prideful athletes heading into the summer games.

"I am such a patriotic girl. I love America so much. I am such an American girl to my core, seriously," she said in a recent interview.

Looking ahead to wearing the team USA swimming cap and uniform, the swimmer described herself as "unbelievably" proud and said representing the country is special every time.

"It never gets old, truly. Each summer when I've gotten to put the American flag cap on my head and represent it, I am so unbelievably proud. And every time I'm able to stand on top of a podium and put my hand on my heart and hear the national anthem play over the entire aquatic center, it's very special. It never gets old."

'I wasn't just swimming for me; I was swimming for the entire country behind me.'

Smith has already had an incredible amount of success while representing the United States at such a young age.

She won gold at the 2019 World Championships in the 200-meter backstroke and the 4x100-meter medley at just 17 years old.

At the 2020 Olympics, Smith took home two silver medals and one bronze.

She won another two gold medals at the 2022 World Championships and one gold, three silver, and one bronze at the 2023 World Championships.

"I would say it kind of gains importance and value each time that it happens for me," she told Fox News. "This summer is going to be no different. I'm just going to be so unbelievably excited to put that cap on and go overseas and represent the best country in the history of the world, I'd say. And it's just — it's wonderful. It's really, really wonderful. And I'm so proud to be American every time that I compete for my country," Smith continued.

The world champion recalled the first time she represented the country when she was 15 and said that the opportunity almost brought her to tears.

"I had such a strong sense of pride, and I was getting up behind the blocks, and I wasn't just swimming for me; I was swimming for the entire country behind me, who had my back and who wanted me to succeed."

The Lakeville, Minnesota, native said that she loves swimming for something "so much bigger than yourself," adding that the desire to make her country proud actually takes some of the pressure off of performing.

Swimming competitions at the 2024 Paris Olympics begin on July 27.

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Michael Phelps responds to Australian trash talk ahead of the Olympics and shows why he's the greatest of all time



Michael Phelps responded to trash talk on the part of an Australian swimmer who said that she was happy when she didn't have to hear "The Star-Spangled Banner" after beating Americans at the world championships.

Four-time Olympian for Australia Cate Campbell was giving an interview in 2023 regarding the country's medal totals in comparison to the United States. Australians won the 2023 World Aquatic Championship in Japan with 13 gold medals, but NBC made the point that the American team had more medals overall.

Campbell, speaking to Australia's "Today" show, expressed how much relief it gave her team to out-swim the United States.

'If somebody said that to me, I would lose it. I would literally make them eat every word they just said about me.'

"It is just so much sweeter beating America. The first night of the competition, we did not have to hear 'Star-Spangled Banner' ring out through the stadium. I cannot tell you how happy that made me," she explained.

"If I hear that song again, it will be too soon. Bring on Paris. That's all I have to say. To the U.S., stop being sore losers," she said in reference to the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Campbell added that the U.S. team has an "infernal" cowbell and noted how annoying she found it when the team chanted "U-S-A, U-S-A!"

"I've never wanted to punch someone more," she said.

Ahead of the summer games, Phelps was shown the video by the folks at the NBC Olympics channel.

"I'm just gonna ask you to see this. How you might have used it if this was said back when you were swimming," an NBC team member said, while handing a tablet to Phelps.

Phelps watched the video showing the anti-American sentiments and was barely able to contain himself.

"I appreciate your comments, Cate," Phelps said as he looked right at the camera. "If somebody said that to me, I would lose it. I would literally make them eat every word they just said about me. 'Cause people have done it. Chad le Clos? Ian Thorpe? You guys have all talked s*** about me, and I had the last laugh," he said in reference to other swimmers.

Phelps, who clearly still has a competitive fire burning in him as he prepares to cover the Olympics from the broadcast booth, gave advice to the U.S. swimmers.

"So, for the Americans, if you see what I just saw, that's the first time I saw it. I would watch that thing every single day to give me that little extra," Phelps said. "The good news is the Olympics will be here shortly, and we'll be able to see what the results are," he added.

Phelps last swam in the 2016 Olympics.

Australia's Campbell attempted to qualify for the 2024 games but failed to pass through the trials, missing out on the Australian final by just 0.01 seconds.

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Sports Court Rejects Lia Thomas Case, Delivers Massive Win For Women’s Sports

World Aquatics' transgender policy was established in June 2022. Since then, World Aquatics has created an open category for transgender athletes to compete in.

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Transgender Ramapo College swimmer who's winning women's competitions previously described Lia Thomas as 'an inspiration'



Ramapo College swimmer Meghan Cortez-Fields previously competed on the men's swimming team but is now competing on the women's team.

In an article last year, the Ramapo News reported that "Cortez is a transgender woman who uses she/they pronouns and is a member of the men's swim team."

The outlet reported that Cortez would tape his chest because using a swim top would disqualify him from participating in men's events. "I choose to tape my breasts because I feel it is very uncomfortable and kind of dehumanizing to swim without a top," Cortez said, according to the outlet.

The swimmer described former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas as "an inspiration." Thomas, a man who identifies as a woman, earned widespread criticism while competing in women's swimming.

"[Thomas] is an inspiration to me in that way, but also I felt so bad for her because I know exactly what she was going through," Cortez noted, according to the outlet. "Even going into this season, I had a fear of succeeding, because I don't want what happened to her to happen to me."

Apparently, Cortez-Fields is now competing on the women's swim team, because a recent post about women's swimming on ramapoathletics.com indicates that at a recent meet, Cortez-Fields "won the 100-yard butterfly with a new program record time of 57.22 seconds," and "won the 200-yard IM." The swimmer placed second in the 200-yard butterfly, the post notes.

"Those who choose to remain blind to the injustice of allowing mediocre male athletes to become record-breaking female athletes are either incompetent or misogynists. There is no in between anymore," Riley Gaines told Fox News. "Women are being asked to smile and step aside and allow these men onto our teams all the while stripping us of opportunities, privacy and safety."

"The incident at Ramapo College shouldn't be a shock to anyone considering we've seen virtually the same story time and time again with no people in leadership positions willing to take a stand for women," Gaines noted, according to the outlet.

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50-year-old man competes against 13-year-old girls in swimming competition

50-year-old man competes against 13-year-old girls in swimming competition



A 50-year-old man was allowed to compete against teenage girls in a regional swimming competition in Canada, after swimming officials said they were simply going with national swimming guidelines.

A man named Nicholas J. Cepeda, who goes by "Melody Wiseheart," competed against young girls ages 13-17 at the Richmond Hill Aquatic Centre’s Fall Classic hosted at the Markham Pan Am Centre, near Toronto, Canada.

Cepeda competed against nine other female swimmers, all of whom were 13 or 14 years old. Cepeda made a mockery of the "Girls 13 & over" age requirement for the 200-meter competition, as he was both the only male competitor and the only swimmer in the entire event over 17 years old.

Organizers of the meet were confronted by reporter David Menzies, who presented a copy of the swimming competition's results. After initially denying the man's participation, administrators admitted fault and agreed that Cepeda did actually take part.

The event organizer told the reporter that he didn't want to get into a debate on gender.

"Don't talk about gender for me because I do not know, because the registration [is] whatever they enter," an organizer named Richard Chan said.

"This is a 13-years-old girls' [competition] so the registration is Swimming Canada's," he continued. "Whatever registration [is] in Swimming Canada for that swimmer, whatever gender, it goes into whichever event," Chan added.

Swimming Canada did not appear to have a clear gender policy on its website, but it has included an "Equity, Diversity and Inclusion" page.

The government organization said it "welcomes full participation of all individuals in our programs and activities, irrespective of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status or disability."

As well, it said it ensures that "equity, diversity and inclusion" are considered in developing policies and programs.

In June 2022, World Aquatics, then known as the International Swimming Federation or FINA, barred transgender athletes from competing against women in elite events, except under one condition: Transgender swimmers are allowed to compete against women if they have completed their transition by the age of 12.

A different Canadian swimming organization, Aquatics Canada Aquatiques, reportedly agreed with the decision. Despite FINA developing a category specifically for transgender athletes, the category was closed just two months after its existence due to zero participants joining the category.

Cepeda is also reportedly a professor at York University in the psychology department, under the moniker "Dr. Melody Wiseheart."

The professor's areas of research appeared to include "aging," "children," "youth," and "cognitive processes" among others.

Swimming Canada did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Blaze News about its policy regarding men competing against women.

The organization did not answer any phone calls, either. This article will be updated with any relevant replies.

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FACT CHECK: Did Lia Thomas Decide To Compete In Men’s League?

The claim stems from a satirical website