Lia Thomas - Will this change college sports for women or a nothingburger?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Typical everyone gets a medal claptrap. But my kid is special. They should get a medal. If Thomas, a 5th year senior, cant beat the time of 15 and 16 year olds this year -- my lands, get the smelling salts.

If you could wait until the NCAA record holder finished, get up, go buy popcorn and return to your seat before Thomas finishes -- you are just being anti-trans. Do you seriously think women on these teams are trying to qualify for the Olympics?

Here -- if you want something else to get mad about Penn sports the men's basketball team refuses to stand for the National Anthem at any games.

A November invitational is not the same as Junior Champs. The taper is not the same and the competition level is not the same. Swimmers also improve between November and March championships. There are 7 seconds between Ledecky's fall time in the 500 the year she set the 500 record and Thomas' from last month. That's hardly popcorn-getting time. Besides which, the 200 free seems more impressive than the 500 or 1000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Typical everyone gets a medal claptrap. But my kid is special. They should get a medal. If Thomas, a 5th year senior, cant beat the time of 15 and 16 year olds this year -- my lands, get the smelling salts.

If you could wait until the NCAA record holder finished, get up, go buy popcorn and return to your seat before Thomas finishes -- you are just being anti-trans. Do you seriously think women on these teams are trying to qualify for the Olympics?

Here -- if you want something else to get mad about Penn sports the men's basketball team refuses to stand for the National Anthem at any games.

Wtf is with this “everyone gets a medal” nonsense? You really sound like a deranged “you’re all anti trans” lunatic. You’re not even making sense anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Typical everyone gets a medal claptrap. But my kid is special. They should get a medal. If Thomas, a 5th year senior, cant beat the time of 15 and 16 year olds this year -- my lands, get the smelling salts.

If you could wait until the NCAA record holder finished, get up, go buy popcorn and return to your seat before Thomas finishes -- you are just being anti-trans. Do you seriously think women on these teams are trying to qualify for the Olympics?

Here -- if you want something else to get mad about Penn sports the men's basketball team refuses to stand for the National Anthem at any games.

A November invitational is not the same as Junior Champs. The taper is not the same and the competition level is not the same. Swimmers also improve between November and March championships. There are 7 seconds between Ledecky's fall time in the 500 the year she set the 500 record and Thomas' from last month. That's hardly popcorn-getting time. Besides which, the 200 free seems more impressive than the 500 or 1000.

And then there will be 15 - 20 other swimmers with better times and still no one will care. No one can name who won any event last March unless it is the person who did it or their parents. Win a gold in the Olympics. That’s about it for fame in swimming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Typical everyone gets a medal claptrap. But my kid is special. They should get a medal. If Thomas, a 5th year senior, cant beat the time of 15 and 16 year olds this year -- my lands, get the smelling salts.

If you could wait until the NCAA record holder finished, get up, go buy popcorn and return to your seat before Thomas finishes -- you are just being anti-trans. Do you seriously think women on these teams are trying to qualify for the Olympics?

Here -- if you want something else to get mad about Penn sports the men's basketball team refuses to stand for the National Anthem at any games.

A November invitational is not the same as Junior Champs. The taper is not the same and the competition level is not the same. Swimmers also improve between November and March championships. There are 7 seconds between Ledecky's fall time in the 500 the year she set the 500 record and Thomas' from last month. That's hardly popcorn-getting time. Besides which, the 200 free seems more impressive than the 500 or 1000.

And then there will be 15 - 20 other swimmers with better times and still no one will care. No one can name who won any event last March unless it is the person who did it or their parents. Win a gold in the Olympics. That’s about it for fame in swimming.

Teenaged girls who want to swim in college can. They also know which girls out there they're competing with for the very limited slots in their specialties. If they are among the best on their team they're training with the pretty good teenaged boys. They know they can't share a lane with or beat the boys who also have a shot at swimming in college. They are really torn on this issue because they don't want to be mean to Lia, but they know no one's going to beat her. At least that's my 6 am post practice carpool's take.

[Anonymous]

Swimmers know basic times they want to swim. What they are shooting to hit. It’s like weightlifting. It doesn’t matter what a competitor does, it is what you can do. Can you beat x? If you work hard on your turns could you shave another y seconds off your time? Whether Mary beats you be 5 seconds or 7 seconds is not important. Whether you swam your best and improved is important.

So - no - swimmers do not know opponents on other teams - unless the won a medal in the Olympics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Swimmers know basic times they want to swim. What they are shooting to hit. It’s like weightlifting. It doesn’t matter what a competitor does, it is what you can do. Can you beat x? If you work hard on your turns could you shave another y seconds off your time? Whether Mary beats you be 5 seconds or 7 seconds is not important. Whether you swam your best and improved is important.

So - no - swimmers do not know opponents on other teams - unless the won a medal in the Olympics.

You have got to be kidding me. You are clueless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swimmers know basic times they want to swim. What they are shooting to hit. It’s like weightlifting. It doesn’t matter what a competitor does, it is what you can do. Can you beat x? If you work hard on your turns could you shave another y seconds off your time? Whether Mary beats you be 5 seconds or 7 seconds is not important. Whether you swam your best and improved is important.

So - no - swimmers do not know opponents on other teams - unless the won a medal in the Olympics.

You have got to be kidding me. You are clueless.

You have zero knowledge. College swimmers barely know the names of the swimmers on their own team. They don’t hang out. If they are not swimming relays together they likely wont even say “hi” if they saw each other walking on campus. And you think they know swimmers for other schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swimmers know basic times they want to swim. What they are shooting to hit. It’s like weightlifting. It doesn’t matter what a competitor does, it is what you can do. Can you beat x? If you work hard on your turns could you shave another y seconds off your time? Whether Mary beats you be 5 seconds or 7 seconds is not important. Whether you swam your best and improved is important.

So - no - swimmers do not know opponents on other teams - unless the won a medal in the Olympics.

You have got to be kidding me. You are clueless.

You have zero knowledge. College swimmers barely know the names of the swimmers on their own team. They don’t hang out. If they are not swimming relays together they likely wont even say “hi” if they saw each other walking on campus. And you think they know swimmers for other schools?

You clearly know nothing about swimming. Prospective high school swimmers who want to swim in college absolutely track others. Women who want to make finals at NCAA champs track their competition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swimmers know basic times they want to swim. What they are shooting to hit. It’s like weightlifting. It doesn’t matter what a competitor does, it is what you can do. Can you beat x? If you work hard on your turns could you shave another y seconds off your time? Whether Mary beats you be 5 seconds or 7 seconds is not important. Whether you swam your best and improved is important.

So - no - swimmers do not know opponents on other teams - unless the won a medal in the Olympics.

You have got to be kidding me. You are clueless.

You have zero knowledge. College swimmers barely know the names of the swimmers on their own team. They don’t hang out. If they are not swimming relays together they likely wont even say “hi” if they saw each other walking on campus. And you think they know swimmers for other schools?

They absolutely 100% know the times of their closest competitors.
This is not even debatable.

Friggin’ RMSC kids know their closest competitors.

[Anonymous]

They don’t care and have no interest in spending any time learning. Odds are worse than 50/50 that any college senior on a swim team even knows the names of the freshman on the team. Don’t care. They are freshmen. Don’t screw up the relay is all they want freshmen to do.

In season - as we are now - it’s get up, put on sweats, eat, go to pool. Stretch and swim. Finish, shower and get to class. Eat. Class/study until p.m. practice. Get to pool, do work that coaches assign. Work with coaches (either a.m. or p.m.), shower, back to dorm/apt eat - socialize/study. Bed. Rinse wash repeat. Out of season - drop one pool session but pick up “voluntary” weight/strength conditioning. Swimmers, like all college athletes, know the teammates they came in with and who continue to stick it out, maybe a few more kids on the team, and some kids they meet in class/dorm. That’s about it for all athletes. Not unique to swim though swim and c-country are similar in not having much socialization between teammates.

So TLDR, It’s a big who cares. Swim as fast as you can and that will win or not. They all are shooting for a time that will get them into a league final or the Olympic trials. (League final in a good conference will be tougher to hit.)

[Anonymous]

Can't make it as a male athlete? Grow your hair long and call yourself a feminine name. Problem solved !! Break those school records !!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They don’t care and have no interest in spending any time learning. Odds are worse than 50/50 that any college senior on a swim team even knows the names of the freshman on the team. Don’t care. They are freshmen. Don’t screw up the relay is all they want freshmen to do.

In season - as we are now - it’s get up, put on sweats, eat, go to pool. Stretch and swim. Finish, shower and get to class. Eat. Class/study until p.m. practice. Get to pool, do work that coaches assign. Work with coaches (either a.m. or p.m.), shower, back to dorm/apt eat - socialize/study. Bed. Rinse wash repeat. Out of season - drop one pool session but pick up “voluntary” weight/strength conditioning. Swimmers, like all college athletes, know the teammates they came in with and who continue to stick it out, maybe a few more kids on the team, and some kids they meet in class/dorm. That’s about it for all athletes. Not unique to swim though swim and c-country are similar in not having much socialization between teammates.

So TLDR, It’s a big who cares. Swim as fast as you can and that will win or not. They all are shooting for a time that will get them into a league final or the Olympic trials. (League final in a good conference will be tougher to hit.)

OMG you know nothing about college swimmers. Nothing at all.

[Anonymous]

I like how even the PP calling everyone anti-trans realizes Lia’s behavior is indefensible, and has thus pivoted to “no one cares about swimming anyway”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They don’t care and have no interest in spending any time learning. Odds are worse than 50/50 that any college senior on a swim team even knows the names of the freshman on the team. Don’t care. They are freshmen. Don’t screw up the relay is all they want freshmen to do.

In season - as we are now - it’s get up, put on sweats, eat, go to pool. Stretch and swim. Finish, shower and get to class. Eat. Class/study until p.m. practice. Get to pool, do work that coaches assign. Work with coaches (either a.m. or p.m.), shower, back to dorm/apt eat - socialize/study. Bed. Rinse wash repeat. Out of season - drop one pool session but pick up “voluntary” weight/strength conditioning. Swimmers, like all college athletes, know the teammates they came in with and who continue to stick it out, maybe a few more kids on the team, and some kids they meet in class/dorm. That’s about it for all athletes. Not unique to swim though swim and c-country are similar in not having much socialization between teammates.

So TLDR, It’s a big who cares. Swim as fast as you can and that will win or not. They all are shooting for a time that will get them into a league final or the Olympic trials. (League final in a good conference will be tougher to hit.)

Please, fellow DCUMers, do not listen to this poster. She keeps digging her heels in, even though she’s clueless.

This issue matters to a lot of girls. Especially Lia’s teammates (who PP will try to persuade you that they don’t even KNOW her)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Swimmers know basic times they want to swim. What they are shooting to hit. It’s like weightlifting. It doesn’t matter what a competitor does, it is what you can do. Can you beat x? If you work hard on your turns could you shave another y seconds off your time? Whether Mary beats you be 5 seconds or 7 seconds is not important. Whether you swam your best and improved is important.

So - no - swimmers do not know opponents on other teams - unless the won a medal in the Olympics.

This is hilarious. So at college swim meets you are only swimming to improve your time? They only give points to swimmers that have improved the most or dropped the most time?

This is so outrageous I don’t even know what to say.