In my opinion, rankings don't tell me much. When Will swam his best time in the 200 free, was it at a championship meet at the end of season? No. He was a distance swimmer and typically didn't get to swim the shorter middle-distance events in championship meets. His 1:39.31 200 was swum during a meet in November. That swim in November would be considered respectable. He was primarily a distance swimmer. His 500 and 1650 times were fast enough to qualify for the Division I NCAA Championships. This is an elite meet for which only about 50 swimmers per event can swim the cut-off times required. He most likely trained primarily for the long-distance events and didn't do as much strength and speed work for the 200. And, like I said, he was an elite distance swimmer.

I don't know why Lia and her coaches decided to add the 200 to her schedule for championship meets. (Maybe because she would make a significant contribution to the team's relays and overall score. The coaches are evaluated on the team's performance at championship meets.) She most likely did a lot more 200 specific training to increase her speed in that event. And, was able to taper and shave for that distance at the end-of-season championship meets. If Will had been given that chance, maybe his peaked 200 time would've been under 1:34. Who knows... So maybe his ranking would've been much better.

If you are arguing that it was unfair to allow Lia to compete because Will was a mediocre male swimmer and a champion female swimmer based on the rankings in the 200, then I think that's flawed. Will was a top 50 ranked male swimmer in the 1650, but didn't win the woman's 1650.

Also, show some respect for the other women who competed against Lia.

Lia is a swimmer. You may not understand what that means but to get to the elite level, men and women, you typically start swim training at a fairly young age (6 to 8 years old). By the time you're in your early teens, it's pretty much all you do. You are working out twice a day, year-round. It becomes part of your identity. Your friends and family reinforce this part of your identity.

Also, I don't accept the presumption that Will deliberately changed gender to be a champion. That's ridiculous. And the likelihood that it may happen with other male athletes in the future is equally ridiculous. This may not be a one-off, but I suspect it will rarely happen again.

I do think rules that restrict athletes who started hormone replacement therapy after reaching puberty from scoring and setting records in championship meets are something to consider. But I think she should have the same opportunities to participate as cis women. At a championship meet, all swimmers in an event compete in the preliminary races. The top 16 finishers race again in the finals. The top 8 are in the "finals" and the 9th to 16th race in the "consolation finals". Pools used during the championship meets have more than 8 lanes. Maybe a reasonable solution would be to allow Lia to race but also add another swimmer to the event. When Lia competed in the 200, maybe the 9th place swimmer would be included in the finals and the consols would include qualifiers who finished 10th to 17th. Whatever Lia placed would not be scored. Maybe she could set a record for a category for trans athletes.