Transgender track and field athlete makes history after winning at California championships

By Esther Quintanilla, Central Valley Journalism Collaborative, Cresencio Rodriguez-Delgado | KVPR

Published Jun 1, 2025 8:50 AM

The photo captures a runner participating in an outdoor track and field event. The athlete is dressed in a navy blue and white uniform with "JVHS Jaguars" printed on the front. The background is motion-blurred, emphasizing the runner's speed, and spectators can be seen watching from a distance.

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A transgender female student athlete competing at California’s high school track and field championship finals took home first place in the high jump and triple jump, and second place in the long jump.

It marked a historic moment at the 2025 CIF Track and Field Championships held on Saturday at Buchanan High School in Clovis. There has not been a known transgender student reach the state finals in the competitions until this year.

The participation in the track and field championships by Jurupa Valley High School junior AB Hernandez has in some ways pushed the limits on how the broader participation of transgender student athletes in sports can look.

It forced the state agency that oversees high school sports to grapple with how to address when a transgender student athlete participates in games, but the agency did so in the face of heavy criticism over the fairness of allowing a transgender female to compete against non transgender females.

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The championships even drew national attention, including from President Trump – who threatened to withhold federal funding from California over the student’s participation in the games. The federal Department of Justice also announced it would investigate whether California was violating the landmark civil rights laws known as Title IX. The investigation centers on a state law passed in 2013 that allows students who meet certain requirements to compete on sports teams that reflect their gender identity, rather than their biological sex.

The photo captures an athlete in mid-air during what appears to be a long jump event. The athlete is dressed in a navy blue and white uniform with "VHS" on the chest. In the background, you can see other athletes, spectators, and tents, all suggesting that this is part of an outdoor track and field competition.

AB Hernandez gets to keep her wins, but so do the female athletes that came in just behind her in the jumping events. This is the case after the CIF changed the rules to allow for an additional female competitor to get a medal if they are beaten by the transgender female athlete.

While Hernandez secured wins in her jumping events, the changes put her virtually in a league of her own.

The CIF initially expanded the eligibility for more “biological females” to compete in the championships than had previously qualified, and later made another change to the rules to allow a girl who placed second to a transgender athlete to also share the medal and spot on the podium.

The change is an experiment that came after mounting pressure and protest by some residents and public officials in the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom and some coaches and spectators at the championship events said they thought the rules were a fair compromise.

But in what was a clamorous week of outrage, there were stronger calls to have Hernandez eliminated from the games altogether. Local officials held a press conference in Clovis on Thursday to speak out against Hernandez’s participation, as well as to call for the protection of girls’ sports.

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The photo displays a banner flying in the sky with the message "NO BOYS IN GIRLS' SPORTS!" written in bold red capital letters. The banner appears to be part of an aerial display or protest.

On Saturday, cheers erupted when Hernandez’s name was called as she stood on the track before her competition. In the distance, a small crowd of protesters tried to form a chant as her name was called. They stood outside the stadium as they had a day before.

The small protest was largely drowned out by the cheering and focus on the competitions inside the stadium. A day earlier one person was arrested for allegedly striking another during the protest. And a small airplane flew over the stadium with a banner that read “No boys in girls’ sports.”

Inside the stadium Saturday, there were no apparent disruptions or major displays of political infighting. Some spectators wore T-shirts that displayed words against the transgender athlete’s participation in the games.

There was a brief pause in one moment, when an announcer asked spectators to respect the athletes who were there to compete, including Hernandez.