One night after becoming the first openly transgender person to win a Division I national championship, in the 500-yard free, Thomas struggled from the beginning of the race and came up more than two seconds short of completing a sweep of the two events in which she entered as the top seed. Stanford’s Taylor Ruck was the winner. Thomas will contest a third event Saturday in the 100-yard freestyle.

Friday’s loss is unlikely to quell the media scrutiny and controversy surrounding Thomas’ ability to participate in the NCAA championships or whether this was a fair competition given the circumstances of her transition.