LGBT+ campaigners have spoken out in support of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who has received a torrent of abuse for competing for the University of Pennsylvania.The 22-year-old Thomas made headlines last month after setting a number of women’s records for her university.She competed at the Zippy International earlier this month, setting a new pool and meet record in the preliminaries of the 500 metre freestyle, before swimming more than 12 seconds faster in the finals.Her time of 4 mins 34.06 secs is currently the best in the country for the women’s collegiate event.Despite meeting the eligibility standards set by the NCAA for women’s events, Thomas has been subject to a torrent of abuse.This includes a column by broadcaster and journalist Piers Morgan, who accused Thomas of "destroying women’s sport". He claimed it was "cruel and discriminatory" for her to be competing in the pool against cisgender women.Thomas has now been supported by LGBT+ campaigners, including Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organisation in the world.The organisation tweeted: "Living your truth is an incredible and powerful feeling. We're in solidarity with Lia and all athletes who compete in the sports they love and on teams consistent with their gender identity."

Human Rights Campaign President Joni Madison also wrote: "Attacking young trans people like this is absolutely unacceptable.

"Lia, I am here for you. I support you. And I will keep up the fight every day to make the world a safe space for young trans people to thrive."

Thomas gave an interview to SwimSwam Podcast earlier this month, detailing her transition from male to female.

She explained how she started to transition in May 2019, beginning hormone replacement therapy.

Thomas continued to compete on the men’s team, however, and her performances dipped.

One year after beginning testosterone suppression, she submitted all of her medical work to the NCAA, and was approved to compete on the women’s swimming team at the University of Pennsylvania.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the entire 2020-21 season, meaning Thomas has only just begun competing as a woman, and she claimed she was entirely supported by her teammates.

"It’s been a lot of struggles in the 12 months prior to coming out to everybody, to the initial awkwardness, and the uncertainty of first starting out transitioning," she said.

"There just seems to be so much to do and things you have to take care of, and it just seems like this mountain.

"But you get by it day by day, and build confidence each day, and I’m feeling confident and good in my swimming and all my personal relationships.

"Transitioning has allowed me to be more confident in all of those aspects of my life, where I was struggling a lot before I came out.

"The team has been unbelievably supportive since the beginning... I feel very supported. Just treated like any other member of the women’s team."