Iszac Henig, a transgender male who achieved the status of All-American female swimmer last year, is now proudly swimming for Yale’s men’s team.
After taking hormones for a period of eight months during his transition process, Henig revealed in an op-ed for the New York Times that his running times are approximately equivalent to what they were at the conclusion of last season.
At the meet of 83 swimmers, Henig finished in an impressive 79th place.
“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,” Henig said.
Henig took the lead in this competition, with four others coming close behind him: a swimmer without an arm and three breaststrokers.
Just a few days before, Henig had placed 10th out of 11 swimmers in the 200-yard freestyle and 11th out of 12 in the 100-yard free. His 400-yard freestyle relay team found themselves last place among five teams, with his own swim time being slower than all those competing.
Nevertheless, Henig’s ambition is not just to achieve victory as a man.
“Instead, I’m trying to connect with my teammates in new ways, to cheer loudly, to focus more on the excitement of the sport,” Henig said. “Competing and being challenged is the best part. It’s a different kind of fulfillment. And it’s pretty great to feel comfortable in the locker room every day.”
“I believe that when trans athletes win, we deserve to be celebrated just as cis athletes are. We are not cheating by pursuing our true selves — we have not forsaken our legitimacy. Elite sports are always a combination of natural advantage or talent and commitment to hard work. There is so much more to a great athlete than hormones or height. I swim faster than some cis men ever will.”
Last March, Lia Thomas made history by becoming the first transgender athlete to win a Division I National Championship in any sport. By transitioning from male to female and claiming victory in this prestigious event, she added fuel to an ongoing discussion of trans women’s inclusion in sports.
As a high-schooler, Henig (then Iszac) was one of the top 100 female swimmers in the United States and had made it to the Olympic trials of 2016.
