Virginia Tech’s Reka Gyorgy criticizes NCAA over transgender swimmer
March 25, 2022Virginia Tech women’s swimming standout Reka Gyorgy, who competed in the NCAA championships event that was won by a transgender swimmer last week, has written a letter of complaint to the NCAA.
Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas of Penn gained national attention when she won the 500-yard freestyle title Thursday at the NCAA Division I women’s swimming and diving championships in Atlanta.
Gyorgy, a Hungary native who has twice earned first-team All-America honors during her Tech career, wrote in her letter that she wanted to “address something that is a problem in our sport right now and hurting athletes.”
“I respect and fully stand with Lia Thomas,” Gyorgy wrote. “I am convinced that she is no different than me or any other D-I swimmer who has woken up at 5 a.m. her entire life for morning practice. She has sacrificed family vacations and holidays for competition. She has pushed herself to the limit to be the best athlete she could be. She is doing what she is passionate about and deserves that right.
“On the other hand, I would like to critique the NCAA rules that allow her to compete against us, who are biologically women.”
Gyorgy posted her letter on her private Instagram account. Websites such as swimmingworldmagazine.com and swimswam.com reprinted the entire letter Sunday, prompting some news websites to pick up the story of the letter.
Gyorgy, a fifth-year senior in terms of college swimming and a graduate student academically, finished 17th overall in the 500 freestyle prelims Thursday with a time of 4 minutes, 41.06 seconds.
The top eight swimmers in the prelims advanced to Thursday night’s “A” final, meaning they got to race again for the NCAA title through eighth place and earned first-team All-America honors.
The swimmers who were ninth through 16th overall in the prelims moved on to the “B” final, meaning they got to race again for ninth through 16th place and earned All-America honorable mention.
So by finishing 17th in the prelims, Gyorgy finished one spot short of making the “B” final.
“This is my last college meet ever and I feel frustrated,” she wrote. “It feels like that final spot was taken away from me because of the NCAA’s decision to let someone who is not a biological female swimmer compete.
“I know you could say I had the opportunity to swim faster and make the top 16, but this situation makes it a bit different and I can’t help but be angry or sad. It hurts me, my team and other women in the pool. One spot was taken away from the girl who got ninth in the 500 free and didn’t make it back to the A final, preventing her from being an All-American.
“Every event that transgender athletes competed in was one spot taken away from biological females throughout the meet.”
Gyorgy took 12th in that event at the NCAAs last year, earning All-America honorable mention.
After finishing first in the prelims last Thursday, Thomas finished first again in the “A” final to win the title with a time of 4:33.24. Emma Weyant of the University of Virginia was second with at time of 4:34.99.
“Thursday was not a specific athlete’s fault. It is the result of the NCAA and their lack of interest in protecting their athletes,” Gyorgy wrote. “I ask that the NCAA takes time to think about all the other biological women in swimming, try to think how they would feel if they would be in our shoes. Make the right changes for our sport and for a better future in swimming.”
The NCAA did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Tech coach Sergio Lopez Miro said in a text message that Gyorgy sent her letter to the NCAA on Saturday, which was the final day of the four-day NCAA championships.
“I am writing this letter right now in hopes that the NCAA will open their eyes and change these rules in the future,” Gyorgy wrote. “It doesn’t promote our sport in a good way and I think it is disrespectful against the biologically female swimmers who are competing in the NCAA.”
Gyorgy competed for Hungary in the 2016 Olympics.
She won the ACC title in the 400-yard individual medley as a Tech freshman in 2017. She finished eighth in that event at the NCAAs that year, earning All-America honors. Gyorgy won the ACC crown in the 400 individual medley again as a sophomore in 2018. In 2019, she was 12th in the 400 individual medley at the NCAAs.
She took an Olympic redshirt year in the 2019-20 season to train for the 2020 Olympics, which did not wind up being held that year.
At last year’s NCAAs, she earned All-America honors with an eighth-place finish in the 400 individual medley.
In addition to her 17th-place finish in the 500 freestyle at last week’s NCAAs, Gyorgy was 10th in the 400 individual medley. She was also part of a 14th-place relay team, a 16th-place relay team and a 17th-place relay team.
Thomas not only won the 500 freestyle last week but also earned All-America honors in two other events, finishing fifth in the 200 freestyle and eighth in the 100 freestyle.
Thomas once competed as a man for Penn before beginning her transition in 2019 by starting hormone replacement therapy.
The NCAA’s approved testosterone threshold for those competing in the NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships was higher than the maximum set this year by USA Swimming, which is the sport’s national governing body. The NCAA has not yet adopted the new USA Swimming policy.
Former Olympic gold medalist Nancy Hogshead-Makar told Associated Press sports columnist Paul Newberry on Friday that Thomas’ biological advantage “has not been mitigated.”
“She didn’t go from being 500th as a male to 500th as a female,” Hogshead-Makar told Newberry. “She went from not being able to even qualify for the NCAAs as a male to being a national champion as a female. That’s not fair.”
But Laurel Powell of the Human Rights Campaign shared a different viewpoint with Newberry.
“There have been instances of trans people playing sports for a long time,” Powell, a transgender woman, told Newberry. “None of them ever became champions, because champions are rare. You have to be very, very good at what you do to win a championship. I don’t think a trans person being successful is anything other than a reason to celebrate.”
Thomas became the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming championship.
“The NCAA knew what was coming this past week,” Gyorgy wrote. “They knew opinions and minds will be divided and chose to do nothing.”
Reka Gyorgy’s letter
Dear NCAA,
I would like to address this past week’s events and express my thoughts. First, I would like to remind everyone that I am a human being and that as a human being I experience feelings and emotions.
My name is Reka Gyorgy from Hungary. I am a 2016 Rio Olympian, represented Virignia Tech for the past 5 years, a 2 time ACC Champion, 2 time All-American and 3 time Honorable Mention All-American.
With all due respect, I would like to address something that is a problem in our sport right now and hurting athletes, especially female swimmers. Everyone has heard and known about transgender [athlete], Lia Thomas, and her case including all the issues and concerns that her situation brought into our sport. I’d like to point out that I respect and fully stand with Lia Thomas; I am convinced that she is no different than me or any other D1 swimmer who has woken up at 5 a.m. her enteire life for morning practice. She has sacrificed family vacations and holidays for a competition. She has pushed herself to the limit to be the best athlete she could be. She is doing what she is passionate about and deserves that right. On the other hand, I would like to critique the NCAA rules that allow her to compete against us, who are biologically women.
I’m writing this letter right now in hopes that the NCAA will open their eyes and change these rules in the future. It doesn’t promote our sport in a good way and I think it is disrespectful against the biologically female swimmers who are competing in the NCAA.
I swam the 500 free at NCAA’s on March 17th, 2022, where I got 17th, which means I didn’t make it back to the finals and was first alternate. I’m a 5th year senior, I have been top 16 and top 8 before and I know how much of a privilege it is to make finals at a meet this big. This is my last college meet ever and I feel frustrated. It feels like that final spot was taken away from me because of the NCAA’s decision to let someone who is not a biological female compete. I know you could say I had the opportunity to swim faster and make the top 16, but this situation makes it a big different and I can’t help but be angry or sad. It hurts me, my team and other women in the pool. One spot was take away from the girl who got 9th in the 500 free and didn’t make it back to the A final preventing her from being an All-American. Every event that transgender athletes competed in was one spot taken away from biological females through the meet.
The NCAA knew what was coming this past week. They knew opinions and minds will be divided and chose to do nothing. This week has been more about reporters, media and division in our sport than things like two women going under 21 seconds in the 50 freestyle, 3 women going under 50 seconds in the 100 butterfly and the first women IN HISTORY to go under 48 seconds in the 100 backstroke. Thursday was not a specific athlete’s fault. It is the result of the NCAA and their lack of interest in protecting their athletes. I ask that the NCAA takes time to think about all the other biological woman in swimming, try to think how they would feel if they would be in our shoes. Make the right changes for our sport and for a better future in swimming.
Thank you for reading,
Reka Gyorgy, Virginia Tech swimmer
