Trans Male Swimmer Struggles Against New Competition After Earning All-American Honors As Female

Iszac Henig, a transgender, male, joined Yale’s men’s swimming Team after finishing last year as an All-American Female swimmer.

Henig It has taken hormones for eight months amid his transition, but the senior’s times are “about the same as they were at the end of last season,” He wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times On Thursday.

Henig This was written during a meet in November He finished in 79th out of 83 swimmers.

“I wasn’t the slowest guy in any of my events, but I’m not as successful in the sport as I was on the women’s team,” Henig wrote.

The Four people to finish behind Henig, according to OutKick, were a swimmer without a left hand and three other specialists in breaststroke.

Several Days before, in a meeting against Columbia, Henig Finished 10th out the 11 in the 200-yard Freestyle and 11th out the 12 in the 100 yard Freestyle. His The 400-yard freestyle relay placed last out of five teams. His swim time was the slowest among all swimmers in that race.

However, Henig’s goal isn’t necessarily to win as a man.

“Instead, I’m trying to connect with my teammates in new ways, to cheer loudly, to focus more on the excitement of the sport,” Henig wrote. “Competing The best part is being challenged. It’s a different kind of fulfillment. And it’s pretty great to feel comfortable in the locker room every day.

“I believe that when trans athletes win, we deserve to be celebrated just as cis athletes are. We are not cheating by pursuing our true selves — we have not forsaken our legitimacy. Elite sports are always a combination of natural advantage or talent and commitment to hard work. There is so much more to a great athlete than hormones or height. I swim faster than some cis men ever will.”

Lia ThomasThe NCAA female female champion was a transitional male to female athlete, namely. Championship last MarchThis is a way to add more firepower to the debate about transgender women in sport. She The first transgender runner to win a prestigious athletics championship Division I won the national title in any sports.

As High schooler Henig (then Iszac) competed in the 2016 Olympic Trials and was ranked among the top 100 female swimmers in the nation two years later.