“Not as Successful in the Sport as I Was on the Women’s Team”: Transgender Swimmer Shares New Challenges and Opportunities Faced

Over the years, the American swim teams have faced countless hurdles, while shining at the Olympics. Swimming athletes like Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky, and more have inspired many young swimmers to dip their toes in the pool. While athletes have faced challenges of their own, a certain aspect of the swim team constitution has been a subject of banter.

The inclusion of transgender athletes has been a point of discussion among many forums. One of recent the cases where an athlete’s performance is subjected to judgment was that of Iszac Henig. The male trans athlete spoke about his experience in an op-ed piece for the New York Times, after receiving All-American honors pre-transition.

Henig’s tough curve through swimming

Having participated on behalf of the NCAA women’s swim team, Iszag Henig has now switched to his male counterparts. Henig, a senior at Yale, came out as a trans male in April 2021. After an eight-month-long hormonal transition, the swimmer is now gradually facing some challenges. While navigating through a team change was a hurdle in itself, the champion’s capabilities are also seeing some differences.

In his statement, Henig specifies that his times remain the same, and he hasn’t witnessed a difference. However, his success ratio has taken a hit. While testing the waters in November 2022, amidst 83 swimmers, Henig stood at the 79th position. This was a landmark change from his earlier performances in the women’s team.

Read More: Michael Phelps Once Gave His Indirect Verdict on Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas Competing in Women’s Division: “Compete on an Even Playing Field”

Henig reflected on his performances, “I wasn’t the slowest guy in any of my events, but I’m not as successful in the sport as I was on the women’s team”. Before the swim meet in November, the swimmer also tried his hand at various levels of freestyle swimming at Columbia. Unfortunately, the results remained consistent.

While Henig navigates through the changes, he finds the process and challenges fulfilling. Currently, on the journey of bonding with team members and crossing various hurdles, it will be interesting to see where the champion’s future takes him. With trans athletes like Henig and Lia Thomas, a new conversation emerges in the field of swimming – regarding policies, performance comparison, and team constitution.

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