Women’s swimming has become extremely popular lately due in part to a controversy involving Guinness. Their announcement last week on the records of Lia Thomas sent the whole of America into a frenzy!
*snip*
Guinness goes back on their call…
“The most controversial athlete in America” is how Sports Illustrated described Lia Thomas in 2022 and she now finds herself amidst another one. Thomas holds the record for women’s 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:33:24, beating Olympic Silver medalist Emma Weyant, who finished 1.75 behind.
Last month, Guinness World Records declared that all records of Lia Thomas mentioned would have asterisk. She had eleven world records in the books, but after severe backlash and criticism from sporting federation worldwide, they quickly reversed the decision. The organization released a statement from the Editor-in-Chief Joe Barron that said,
August 05, 2023 03:00 pm EDT
“Rather than add an asterisk, Guinness will vacate the record and give it, by default, to the next in line.” “We regret that there had to be any discussion on the matter and look forward to putting it behind us.”
They enlisted all the records in the 2023 edition, but assured people that it would be the sole edition with those records.
Women’s swimming is slowly becoming mainstream…
The next edition of the book will not feature any mentions of Lia Thomas, and the records will stand with the correct holders. It will also feature an explanation for the discrepancy in the previous version. Barron said to the media, “This whole thing sounds more official than your traditional story,”
“By now, there should be something that gives it away other than all those fictitious records.”
*snip*
The world swimming has already banned Lia Thomas and barred her from competing further in women competitions. The new rules stated that transgender women must now establish that they “have not experienced any part of male puberty”. Sporting bodies worldwide have presented a united front on the issue and stakeholder have had to take notice. Women’s swimming is rising up the horizon but a foot on a rocky road.
* Article From: Essentially Sports