Penn swimmer Lia Thomas placed first in the 500-yard freestyle qualifiers on Thursday morning at the NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships.
The final for the 500 freestyle event will take place on Thursday night.
Thomas, who is transgender, posted a season-best time, completing the qualifier in four minutes, 33.82 seconds. Her previous season high came in December when she completed the event in four minutes, 34.06 seconds. This previous mark was the best time in the NCAA during the regular season.
Thomas will be competing in the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle races this week.