Gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman hosted a campaign event at the University of Utah’s Alumni House on Thursday, Jan. 18, and invited activist and former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines as a guest. 

Gaines spoke in favor of single-sex sports after tying with transgender female swimmer Lia Thomas in the 2022 NCAA Division 1 Women’s Swimming and Diving 200-yard freestyle competition. 

During her speech, Gaines talked about her swimming career at the University of Kentucky. After swimming for 18 years of her life, junior year she ranked 7th place in the country, setting the goal to be first. In all, Gaines is a 12-time All-American swimmer.

Gaines first saw Thomas swim in 2022. At the time, Thomas was the national leader of women’s swimming. Gaines said when she realized Thomas was a transgender swimmer, she sighed with relief and assumed the NCAA would not allow Thomas to compete with Gaines. 

However, in the NCAA 200-yard freestyle competition, Gaines and Thomas tied for 5th place. 

According to Gaines, the NCAA gave the trophy to Thomas and did not award Gaines one, only allowing her photos with the trophy. Gaines said she thinks Thomas was a “mediocre swimmer at best” within the men’s swimming league, but dominated the women’s.

Thomas swam on the University of Pennsylvania men’s team for three years and set the 6th fastest time for the 1,000-yard race. 

In 2019, Thomas had come out as transgender, and according to CNN, struggled competing in the men’s league due to hormone therapy. 

The NCAA requires at least one year of hormone replacement therapy before an athlete can be cleared to participate. After a year of therapy, Thomas submitted medical documentation and was cleared to participate in the 2020-21 season.

Gaines said she believed the policy was unfair and not a “lateral movement.”

During the 2022 swim season, Gaines said the female swimmers were not told there would be a swimmer with biologicaly male genitalia changing with them. 

“I think we can all agree a locker room is not a comfortable place for anyone, but growing up a swimmer you almost become comfortable being vulnerable in that environment,” Gaines said. “But to be in that space, undressing [and] to hear a man’s voice, unbeknownst to you that that man would be in there — and of course, you didn’t give consent for that.”

Gaines also said the university discouraged the athletes from speaking up about their concerns. They were advised that if they had said anything and Thomas were harmed, the athletes would be “solely responsible.”

Gaines named this “spiritual warfare,” and said this topic is no longer a battle of “good and evil,” but “moral versus evil.”

She referred to Gov. Spencer Cox’s veto on banning trans student athletes from participating in sports.

“He said he wanted to err on the side of compassion,” Gaines said. “Well, you know what I have to say to him — what about compassion for women?”

Later, Utah lawmakers overrode Cox’s veto, banning trans athletes in girl’s sports, which was then overridden by a Utah judge, allowing assessments to determine if trans athletes can participate.

Lyman said he shared similar sentiments to Gaines and brought up H.B. 257, a bill designed to require people to use bathrooms according to their gender at birth. The bill is waiting to be heard on the Senate floor after passing out of the Senate Business and Labor Committee 5-3 earlier today.

Lyman said he had received calls from concerned citizens, naming the bill as “anti-trans,” however, Lyman denied the bill as anti-trans.

“Yeah, I guess I get that you believe that gender is fluid and that it’s a preference. And that you want to affirm those people who feel that way?” Lyman said. “I totally get that because I have people in my circle. Boys who believe that they’re boys and I want to affirm them.”

A Utah native, Lyman is one of the nine candidates running for Utah Governor. Lyman had previously been elected as San Juan County’s commissioner and awarded “Commissioner of the Year” from the Utah Association of Counties. 

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