Trans swimmer breaks records swimming for women's college team in New Jersey

A trans-identifying male New Jersey collegiate swimmer has set another school record in women’s swimming.

On February 16, Ramapo College of New Jersey Athletics posted to Instagram that Meghan Cortez-Fields set a new school record in the 200m individual medley with a time of 2:08.20 at the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships.

Despite the school record, Cortez-Fields placed 5th in the finals. 

"Male swimmer from Ramapo College sets another school record in women's event," Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer, wrote on X. 

"Now tell me again the strides women have made when society applauds a man for pushing us off our own podium. Title IX literally means nothing at this point."

Cortez-Fields broke another women’s school record back in November. At a meet in Pennsylvania, Cortez-Fields swam the women’s 100-yard butterfly with a program record of 57.22 seconds.

This is the transgender athlete’s first year competing in the female division.

In 2022, The Ramapo News highlighted how Cortez, who identified as a woman at that point, applied athletic tape over his nipples because NCAA rules prohibit male swimmers from wearing swimsuits that extend above the waist or below the knees. 

"I choose to tape my breasts because I feel it is very uncomfortable and kind of dehumanizing to swim without a top," Cortez said.

Cortez was allowed to use the general women’s locker room, but not the women’s team locker room.

Cortez-Fields has a number of tattoos, one of which was highlighted by former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines back in November. One tattoo, placed on the forearm, is the figure seen in the center of Botticelli’s famed The Birth of Venus painting, but instead of the biological woman seen standing in the center of the clamshell, the tattoo is of a being that has both female breasts and a male penis.