California track controversy grows as trans athlete heads to state championship

A biologically male trans athlete will compete for the girls’ long jump and triple jump state championship in California next week. 

The trans athlete finished in first place in both events at Saturday’s California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Track Championship Masters Qualifiers. 

In triple jump, the athlete won with a distance of 40-04.75, while the runner up only reached 39-06.00. In long jump, the trans athlete’s margin of victory was shorter, reaching 19-03.50 while the runner-up managed 19-00.75. 

During the long jump medal ceremony, the athlete who finished in third place did not show up and accept the third place medal next to the trans athlete. No reason has been given. The second-place finisher received a noticeably vocal applause. 

Tracy Howton, a local parent of an athlete who competes in track and field, attended the event Saturday and had to witness what is becoming a regular site for her and others in the community. 

“As the parent of a female jumper, we have watched this happen at the last three track meets. Today we watched incredible female athletes lose their opportunities to go to states to a biological male. I can’t imagine how devastating it would feel to work so hard and then be unfairly stripped of your opportunity to compete at states. It’s heartbreaking,” Howton told Fox News Digital.

“Governor Newsom, our California elected officials and the CIF are failing our girls. It’s that simple. They owe the competitive female athletes of California representation. They owe them responsible decisions based on science and fundamental truth. For our family, this experience has reinforced just how important it is to use your voice to stand up for truth, remembering that bad decisions can be corrected.”

The CIF has been at the center of a national controversy in recent weeks as the trans athlete has dominated the girls’ track and field postseason. 

The situation has become so volatile that President Donald Trump’s administration sent a warning to the CIF and the athlete’s high school, Jurupa Valley High School, of consequences for allowing the situation to continue. 

CIF is already under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for defying Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order. The federation came under additional scrutiny when its officials allegedly forced athletes to remove shirts that read “Protect Girls Sports” at the Southern Sectional prelims on May 10. 

“CIF’s and Jurupa Valley High School’s apparent flouting of federal civil rights law by allowing a male athlete to compete in a female California track and field [Southern Sectional Division 3 final] this Saturday, and the alleged retaliation against the girls who are protesting this, is indefensible,” Julie Hartman, a Department of Education spokesperson, previously told Fox News Digital.

“We will not allow institutions to trample upon women’s civil rights. OCR’s (Office of Civil Rights) investigation into CIF continues with vigor.”  

CALIFORNIA GIRLS’ TRACK ATHLETE OPENS UP ON LOSING 1ST-PLACE TITLE TO TRANS COMPETITOR

The Jurupa Unified School District (JUSD) has responded to the controversy in a previous statement to Fox News Digital. 

“JUSD continues to follow both California law and CIF policy regarding school athletics. Both state law and CIF policy currently require that students be permitted to participate in athletic teams and competitions consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records. JUSD remains committed to protecting the rights and safety of the students we serve, in accordance with applicable state and federal laws,” the statement reads.

The situation is set to come to a head next Saturday when the athlete will look to cap off a dominant postseason run with a pair of state titles. 

The event will take place at Veterans Memorial Stadium at Buchanan High School in Clovis, California, and will feature a rematch between the trans athlete and a female athlete who has spoken out against her trans opponent’s inclusion. 

In long jump, the athlete will face off against Katie McGuiness, who came in second place behind the athlete at last weekend’s sectional final. McGuiness earned an automatic state championship qualification this Saturday with a distance of 18-05.50. 

“I ran down the runway, and I landed, and I watched them measure my mark, and it was 18.9,” McGuiness said in an interview on Fox News’ “America Reports.” “And I just remember thinking that there was nothing else that I could do. That was it. And I was honestly very discouraged, and I’m a high school senior and winning CIF has always been a goal of mine, and I wasn’t able to compete with someone who was genetically different than me.”

McGuinness made her overall stance on the issue clear.

“There are just certain genetic advantages that biological males have that biological girls don’t,” she said. “Frankly, I just can’t stand for that.”

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