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A competitor of Lia Thomas says she felt 'extremely uncomfortable' sharing the locker room with her

A former college swimmer who has been very critical of Lia Thomas said that sharing a locker room with the transgender athlete she competed against made her feel 'extremely uncomfortable.'

Riley Gaines, who swam competitively for the University of Kentucky, told Fox News' Tucker Carlson that she didn't feel comfortable changing in the same locker room as someone with "different parts." She also said that organizers didn't tell her that Thomas would be using the women's facilities.

“That’s not something we were forewarned about, which I don’t think is right in any means, changing in a locker room with someone who has different parts,” Gaines said in an interview with the conservative talk-show host.

The college athlete who graduated this year has repeatedly knocked Thomas for her participation in women’s swimming — saying Thomas, who was born male, has an unfair biological advantage.

“So not only were we forced to race against a male, we were forced to change in the locker room with one,” Gaines said on Wednesday’s episode of “Tucker Carlson Today.”

“Then we’re sitting there not even knowing who to talk to, who to complain to, because this kind of all happened behind the scenes and very discreetly.”

Penn Quakers swimmer Lia Thomas holds a trophy after finishing fifth in the 200 free at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships as Kentucky Wildcats swimmer Riley Gaines looks on.
Riley Gaines, right, said she felt uncomfortable changing in the same locker room as transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
USA TODAY Sports

Gaines said that the National Collegiate Athletic Association did not do enough to keep women's sports fair.

Gaines and Thomas tied for fifth place at the 200-year freestyle NCAA championships in March. Since then, Gaines has been very harsh on Thomas.

This month, Gaines criticized the University of Pennsylvania for putting Thomas in the running for the "Woman of the Year" award from the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 2022.

Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines swims the 200 Butterfly prelims at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 19th, 2022.
Gaines tied with Thomas for fifth place in the 200-year freestyle NCAA championships.
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

“This is yet another slap in the face to women,” Gaines, who was also nominated for the award, tweeted. “First a female national title and now nominated for the pinnacle award in collegiate athletics. The @NCAA has made this award worthless.” 

Carlson talked to Gaines in April about Thomas's participation in women's swimming.

At the time, Gaines thought it was unfair that she had to compete against Thomas, and she said that most female athletes she knew felt the same way.

“We’re dealing with something that’s completely out of our control when we’re racing, biological males,” she said in the April interview. “Whether they have different lung capacities, their height, testosterone levels whether they’ve used testosterone blockers are not — it doesn’t suppress going through puberty as a male. Especially Lia who swam for three years as a male.”

“It’s completely unfair and it’s a matter of equity really,” Gaines added.

Last month, transgender women in sports caused a lot of controversy, so the world's governing body for swimming, FINA, banned them from competing in elite women's events.

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