Transgender students may represent only a tiny percentage of high school athletes, but they enjoyed disproportionate success this year in girls’ track-and-field state championships.
Five biological males who identify as female won girls’ state scholastic titles at outdoor-season spring meets in Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, Oregon and Washington.
At least three other male-born athletes didn’t win but competed at the girls’ track-and-field championships in Connecticut, Hawaii and Washington, as tracked by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, or ICONS.
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As far as All-American swimmer Marshi Smith is concerned, however, that doesn’t make it right.
“It’s tragic to witness the absurdity of boys dominating girls’ high school sports, with no leadership in these states stepping up to defend girls,” the ICONS co-founder told The Washington Times.
Five years after transgender runners Andraya Yearwood and Terry Miller dominated the female field in Connecticut, reports of male-born teens competing against girls in high school track have soared in Democrat-controlled states without Fairness in Women’s Sports laws.
Twenty-four states have passed measures barring biological males from competing in female scholastic sports based on gender identity, and another state could soon join their ranks.
On New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu’s desk is House Bill 1205, a Fairness in Women’s Sports measure that would bar boys from girls’ scholastic sports in grades 5-12 based on sex at birth. The bill passed both GOP-controlled houses with no Democratic votes.
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Transgender athletes outpacing the female competition in this year’s outdoor track-and-field season include:
— Lizzy Bidwell, a junior at Connecticut’s Conard High School, who won the triple jump with a leap of 36 feet, 8 inches, which was 14 inches longer than the runner-up at the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class LL Girls Championships in New Britain. Bidwell was also the runner-up in the long jump and high jump, amassing points that helped Conard take second place at the May 29 championship meet.
— Maelle Jacques, a sophomore at New Hampshire’s Kearsarge Regional High School, who won the girls’ high jump May 18 at the Wilderness Track and Field Championship and also placed second in the 1600-meter run.
— Soren Stark-Chessa, a sophomore at Maine Coast Waldorf School who competes for North Yarmouth Academy, took first in the 800-meter race June 1 at the Maine Class C State Championship in Standish with a time of 2.19.72. That finish was a full 10 seconds faster than that of the silver medalist, Natalie Johnson, who timed in at 2:29.84.
— Aayden Gallagher, a sophomore at Oregon’s McDaniel High School, who took first in the girls’ 200-meter dash May 18 at the Oregon School Activities Association 6A Track and Field State Championships in Eugene. Gallagher also took second in the 400-meter run.
— Veronica Garcia, a junior at Washington’s East Valley High School, who took gold in the girls’ 2A 400-meter run May 25 at the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association’s 2A, 3A, 4A State Championship Meet in Tacoma. Garcia, who won the 400 at all seven meets ahead of the state championships, was also a top competitor this year in the 1600-meter, 3200-meter, 300-meter hurdles, and 4X400 relay, as shown on Athletic.net. Asked about the state victory, Garcia told a local reporter: “I don’t know. Maybe just another day in the office. Nothing special for me. I just run.”
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The applause was far more muted when Garcia’s name was announced — some could be heard booing — while the other runners on the podium stood with their hands behind their backs.
Zeigler defended Oregon’s Gallagher against the “cheater” criticism on social media, pointing out that the transgender runner is following the rules, but also said that it’s “entirely fair to question the rules and hold the rules makers accountable.”
“I disagree with the declaration-only qualifications that the OSAA has put forward regarding transgender athletes,” he said in the May 20 op-ed. “I don’t think varsity high school athletes should simply be able to declare their gender and compete in that category.”
At the elite level, including varsity high school, college and pro sports, Zeigler said the “path to participation for trans girls in girls’ sports should include some medical transition, including a reasonable period of hormone replacement.”
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“The surge in male athletes participating and winning in girls’ sports over the past few weeks highlights the dismantling of Title IX, a trend the Biden administration not only permits but celebrates, harming the mental health and well-being of young girls,” Smith said. “The escalating loss of athletic opportunities for girls is an injustice that must end.”
More high schoolers participate in outdoor track-and-field than any other sport. In the 2022-23 academic year, there were 1,091,338 students involved in outdoor track, and 486,355 of those were girls, according to a LendingTree analysis of National Federation of State High School Associations data.
* Original Article:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jun/16/transgender-athletes-leave-girls-dust-winning-trac/?utm_source=smartnews.com&utm_medium=smartnews&utm_campaign=smartnews%20