Riley Gaines 'feared for her life' and was 'really scared' after criticising trans swimmer Lia Thomas

Thomas beat her rival, becoming the first openly trans woman champion in the NCAA's women's division in the process after excelling in the 500-yard free style.

Gaines has regularly spoken out against transgender athletes competing against biological women.

And now, speaking to Newsweek, the 23-year-old has admitted she was fearful - revealing she has faced abuse as a result of her beliefs on the subject.

"Definitely," she said when asked if she feared for her life.

"I've been in situations now where in the case of San Francisco I was physically assaulted, I was held for ransom for four hours by these protesters, I've been spit on, I've had drinks poured on me, glass bottles thrown at me, I've been called the most obscene things you can imagine, I've had drones flying above my house, people showing up to my house, people staking outside my hotel room when they find out where I'm staying, so absolutely.

"At first it did really scare me, but I realised pretty quickly actually that that's exactly what they're trying to do - scare me and scare me into silence.

"Even in the face of fear, I feel I'm someone who's not going to back down from doing what I feel to be right and fair and moral and just."

Gaines previously said she experienced 'extreme discomfort' after changing next to Thomas in the locker room.

Speaking in 2022, she said: “That's not something we were forewarned about, which I don't think is right in any means, changing in a locker room with someone who has different parts.

“So not only were we forced to race against a male, we were forced to change in the locker room with one.

“And so then we're sitting there not even knowing who to talk to, who to complain to, because this kind of all happened behind the scenes and very discreetly.”

And Gaines has now shed more light on her experiences.

"If you look at this at the most basic level, we were not asked for our consent, we did not give our consent yet there was a naked man taking his clothes off inches away from where we were taking our clothes off," she stated.

And Gaines believes women are being disrespected so transgender athletes can compete.

"Speaking to my experience what I saw and what I felt was an utter disregard and disdain for us as female athletes," Gaines continued.

"We were discriminated against on the basis of our sex.

"My stance is not anti-trans, it's very much pro-women."

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As for Thomas, the trans swimmer is taking legal action in a bid to compete again in female elite sport.

Two years ago, World Aquatics voted to stop trans women from competing in women's elite races if they have gone through 'male puberty'.

But Thomas is taking a case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland to try to fight the ban and get the current rules changed.

"Ms Thomas accepts that fair competition is a legitimate sporting objective and that some regulation of transgender women in swimming is appropriate," Cas said.

"However, Ms Thomas submits that the Challenged Provisions are invalid and unlawful as they discriminate against her."

Thomas has previously said she hoped to compete in the US trials for the Paris Olympics later this year.

She has also said transgender athletes were 'not a threat' to their female counterparts.