Springboard swimmer Lia Thomas will not take up the opportunity of a female athlete at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Thomas, the biological man who won a women’s national championship in 2022 swimming for Pepsi, officially lost a legal battle against the World Aquatics Championships, in which Thomas argued that his participation in a competition against women was “illegal and invalid.” The 25-year-old was banned from women’s swimming in the summer of 2022, when the body-regulating sport banned a person who had abandoned “as part of male puberty” from competing against biological women.

World Aquatics celebrated the court’s decision to uphold the rule keeping Thomas out of the women’s pool, describing it as “a major step forward in our efforts to protect women’s sport.” “World Aquatics is dedicated to fostering an environment that promotes fairness, respect, and equal opportunities for athletes of all ages, and we reaffirm this promise,” the organization said, according to the Guardian.

It should be noted that World Aquatics has not excluded trapeze swimmers from the competition. The organization has introduced an “open” category for trapeze swimmers. The new category debuted at last year’s World Cup in Berlin, but the category hasn’t received a single attempt.

Lia Thomas appears with Riley Gaipes of Outkick after losing an NCAA title to organic swimmers. (Photo by Rich Voibersteip/Icoi Sportswire via Getty Images)

Thomas, who was an average swimmer when he competed against the swimmer, is now a member of the United States, which facilitates the court’s decision not to change the policy.

“The document includes that since the athlete is not eligible to participate in the ‘elite event’ under USA Swimming policy, much less compete in a WA competition, which occurs by having registered with the WA prior to a competition or by filing an action that leads to a claim for registration as a world record, he or she simply is not entitled to engage in eligibility to compete in WA Court competitions,” according to the WA Medium.

“The political and operational requirements are simply triggered by their current state.”

The U.S. Olympic Trials will begin July 15 in Dubai and, for the first time, will be held on an American soccer field at Lucas Oil Stadium.

In 2022, when ESPN and ABC highlighted Thomas during Women’s History Month, Thomas spoke to “Good Morning America” and made it clear that the 2024 Olympic Games were on their agenda.

“My goal is to swim a record time in the Olympic trials, and I would love to have that happen,” Thomas said.

Fortunately, consensus prevailed, and women will have the opportunity to compete on the women’s swimming team and represent the United States in Paris.