Why I Shouldn’t Have Quit Swimming

First let me start off with why I did quit.

As a kid, I hated swimming. I would cry when my parents dragged me to the pool for basic safety lessons. They used to bribe me with White Castle Sliders out of desperation. Fast forward a few years, and I had somehow found myself on a competitive team. It was so ironic. I attended my first meet at 12 years old, which was relatively late compared to my peers. Leading up to my first race, the 100 breast, my nerves were off the charts. Behind the blocks, I was seriously considering making a run for the parking lot. After the race, I met my dad in the locker room. I still felt uneasy, but I vividly remember saying, “that was actually kinda fun!”

Brooke Forde: ‘I Will Not Have a Problem Racing Against Lia Thomas at NCAAs’

A handful of U.S. National Team swimmers and past Olympic gold medalists have given their opinion on whether transgender swimmer Lia Thomas deserves to be permitted to compete in women’s events on the NCAA level, but none of Thomas’ potential collegiate rivals have spoken out previously. However, Stanford fifth-year swimmer Brooke Forde chimed in this week as she passed along comments to her father, Sports Illustrated writer Pat Forde, to share on the Yahoo Sports College Football podcast.

Brooke Forde wrote that she has “great respect” for Thomas and admiration for Thomas’ courage in becoming one of the first trans female athletes to race at a high level in swimming. She added that “treating people with respect and dignity is more important than any trophy or record will ever be.”

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