20 Facts About Iszac Henig

Iszac Henig is an American swimmer specializing in short distance freestyle races, and an undergraduate at Yale University.

Iszac Henig gained particular notice as part of the debate about transgender people in sports when he came out as a trans man, while continuing to swim on the Yale women's team and achieving All-America status at the NCAA Division I Championship.

Iszac Henig joined his first summer swimming team at the Ladera, California, recreation district at the age of four, initially to get a suit with a dolphin on it.

Iszac Henig was inspired to compete further by Michael Phelps's record number of gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and began training seriously, starting with year-round swimming at the age of eight.

Iszac Henig was the only competitive swimmer in his family.

Iszac Henig knew he identified as a boy at the age of 14, but was not ready to make the commitment to gender transition.

In May 2015, Iszac Henig set a West Bay Athletic League record in the 200-yard freestyle.

Iszac Henig transferred to Menlo-Atherton High School in his sophomore year in 2016, and had to sit out of competitive swimming until April.

Iszac Henig was named the San Mateo Daily Journal Athlete of the Week for that, and later the Daily Journal Swimmer of the Year.

Iszac Henig was captain of the high school swimming team, and continued receiving coaching from former Olympian Dana Kirk of Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics.

Iszac Henig entered Yale University in the fall of 2018, to study the ocean organisms that had fascinated him in his youth, but majored in Earth and Planetary Science, for lack of a Yale Marine Biology department.

Iszac Henig contributed a short essay on the subject to a June 2021 New York Times article about coming out during the pandemic.

Iszac Henig chose not to use masculinizing hormone therapy such as testosterone so he could continue swimming on the women's team.

On January 8,2022, Iszac Henig set another pool record, this time at the Sheerr Pool of the University of Pennsylvania in the 50-yard freestyle, as well as helping Yale win other events in a match against Penn and Dartmouth.

Iszac Henig posted a faster time than Thomas in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

In February 2022, Iszac Henig again faced Thomas at the Ivy League championships at Harvard University.

Iszac Henig won the 50-yard freestyle, setting a pool record as Thomas watched and applauded.

Iszac Henig's motivation was that NCAA rules prohibited clothing with political statements, but there were no rules about writing on skin.

Iszac Henig took fifth place in the 100-yard freestyle at the championship, earning All-America recognition.

Iszac Henig wrote in a New York Times editorial that, while he realized that he would be closer to the bottom of the pack after joining the men's team, it would make him his true, authentic self.