Réka György has been swimming since she was 8-years-old. She’s competed internationally, qualified for the European championships and the world championships, and represented Hungary in the 2016 Rio Olympics. But at her final swim meet as a U.S. college athlete, she lost her place in the NCAA finals—to a trans-identified male.
In the now infamous 2022 Women’s NCAA Championships, György was one of several female swimmers forced to compete against “Lia” Thomas, a University of Pennsylvania swimmer who was allowed to compete on the women’s team after transitioning despite swimming on the men’s team in the years prior.
“I got bombed out from the final because of him,” György alleged.
Placing 17th in the 500-meter freestyle, György was pushed down in the rankings just below the 16th-place cutoff. If Thomas hadn’t been competing that day, she would have made it to the finals.
“I gave my best to swimming. I put my best into the pool every single day,” György said. “I knew that after graduation, I’m going to step away from swimming, and I’m going to retire… I put a lot of energy and time and sacrifice… [so] I can be in the sport that I love.”
Beyond the athletic opportunities stolen from György, she was also stripped of her privacy and female-only space when she was forced to share a locker room with Thomas. And when nobody in power spoke out for the athletes or stopped this from happening, György said she knew she had to speak up. She wrote an open letter advocating for female-only sports and spaces to the NCAA and gave it to one of the organization’s representatives at her final swim meet.
Then, György learned that female swimmers at Roanoke College were being forced to share a locker room with a trans-identified male and compete with him. A personal connection on the Virginia Board of Health encouraged her to speak up, and György took up the cause on a state level.
“I went… to speak in front of the board and bring up this issue here in the state of Virginia,” she recalled.
At first, György said lawmakers and administrators seemed to listen to her warnings for women and girls across Virginia.
“I filed a petition a year ago, and the Virginia Board of Health had a vote on it,” György said. “They actually passed the petition… But after the election, [Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail] Spanberger took it over…… [In July], she decided that she’s not going to protect girls and women’s spaces and sports, but it just became public last week. That’s when I figured out that girls and women are in danger now.”
“I tried to speak up,” György added. “I tried to use my social platform to bring up the issue. I’m trying to reach out to Spanberger and see if we can talk about it and see where she’s at right now. But I don’t know.”
György noted that 27 states have passed legislation to protect female-only sports and spaces, putting Virginia in the minority, and almost 80% of Americans agree that transgender-identified males should not compete in women’s sports. György shared that most Virginians are not happy with Spanberger’s decision.
“It’s not about politics. It’s just about common sense,” she said.
“I hope that [Spanberger] sees where I’m coming from,” she added. “As a woman, I hope that she will protect girls and women in the state where we are living at right now.”
György emphasized that creating and preserving opportunity for women and girls is what Title IX was created for. The Biden Administration, however, attempted to rewrite Title IX rules to force females to share their sports with males. The Trump Administration has since passed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order to ensure fair competition. And this summer, the Supreme Court affirmed states’ right to pass legislation that protects female-only sports and spaces, leaving Virginia with ample precedent to join other states in protecting women and female-only opportunities.
“I’m just asking the people who are reading this article or reading the news about this issue to speak up, to stand up for women and girls, because the more voices we hear, the [more] likely that we are going to be able to win this battle,” György said.
