Swimmer Lia Thomas didn’t announce her retirement, despite online claims

When news broke in June that transgender swimmer Lia Thomas had lost a legal challenge to overturn rules barring her from women’s elite competitive swimming events, both U.S. and international media outlets covered the story. 

They didn’t, however, report that Thomas said she was leaving swimming. 

"Lia Thomas announces retirement from competitive swimming: ‘Nobody wants me on their team,’" a June 19 Facebook post said.

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

This claim originated on self-described satire sites, and versions of it have been circulating on the internet since at least September 2023. 

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Facebook posts

stated on December 14, 2024 in a post

“Men’s swimming team refuses to compete against Lia Thomas, calling her a 'cheat'”

We found neither credible reporting nor public statements from Thomas to corroborate this claim.. 

Rather, after the Court of Arbitration of Sport in Switzerland ruled that Thomas lacked standing to bring a case against World Aquatics, which sets the rules for elite swimming competitions, Thomas said in a statement from her legal team that it was "deeply disappointing." 

And she hardly sounded as if she was giving up. The court decision, she said, "should be seen as a call to action to all trans women athletes to continue to fight for our dignity and human rights."

We rate this post False.