A transgender high school athlete dominated multiple girls track and field events at a California regional final Saturday, igniting backlash from parents, competitors and activists. Ultimately prompting officials to award duplicate gold medals to female runners-up.
Jurupa Valley High School senior, AB Hernandez, captured first place in the girls long jump, high jump and triple jump during the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section finals.
The controversy-filled meet drew roughly 2,000 spectators, many of whom voiced outrage over Hernandez competing in the girls division.
In an apparent response to mounting criticism, event organizers awarded extra gold medals in events won by Hernandez, giving first-place honors to the biological female athletes who finished directly behind the transgender competitor.
Hernandez posted a winning long jump mark of 20 feet, 4.75 inches (6.21 meters), comfortably ahead of Moorpark High School athlete Gianna Gonzalez, who jumped just over 19 feet (5.79 meters).
During the high jump medal ceremony, Hernandez stood atop the podium alongside Oak Park High School’s Gwynneth Mureika, who was also handed a gold medal despite finishing second.
This was the only time on Saturday that Hernandez stood next to a female athlete on the podium.
Hernandez cleared 5 feet, 8 inches (1.72 meters), while Mureika reached 5 feet, 6 inches (1.67 meters).
Crean Lutheran High School standout Reese Hogan, a vocal critic of transgender athletes competing in girls sports, finished third in the high jump.
Observers noted visible tension between Hogan and Hernandez during the competition, though the two did not interact.
Hernandez, wearing pink-soled Nike spikes and sparkles woven into twin braids, also claimed second place in the triple jump, beating Shadow Hills High School athlete Malia Strange by nearly two feet.
But when Hernandez stepped onto the top podium spot for the triple jump medal ceremony, Strange, who was expected to stand alongside Hernandez after receiving a matching gold medal under the CIF’s pilot policy, did not appear, raising speculation that the third-place finisher intentionally snubbed the celebration.
The athlete’s mother, Nereyda Hernandez, sat in the bleachers alongside a female companion and declined to comment to The Post.
Among the crowd were the parents of 17-year-old athlete Olivia Viola, both wearing pink shirts reading “Protect Girls Sports” as they supported their daughter at the meet.
“She thinks it’s a fundamental issue of fairness for women,” Olivia’s mother, Tracy Howton, 55, told The Post.
“She’s fighting for the rights of female athletes. It’s a very simple principle. That’s what she’s standing strong on. It shouldn’t be that controversial.”
Howton also blasted California Gov. Gavin Newsom over comments related to transgender athletes in girls sports.
“He’s tried to peg any female who’s trying to stand up for women as bullies,” she said. “It’s a way for him to try to shut them down.
“It’s easier for him if the girls don’t speak up.”
Olivia’s father, Juan Luis Viola, accused state leaders and CIF officials of failing to defend female athletes.
“She shouldn’t be the one fighting for this,” he told The Post. “Where are the adults fighting for the kids?”
Critics at the event repeatedly invoked Title IX protections, arguing girls athletics are being undermined by allowing biological males to compete in female divisions.
Title IX is a landmark federal law that bans sex discrimination in any American school or educational program that receives federal funding.
Spectator Mary Davis, 60, called the situation “a form of neo-misogyny.”
“I’m here to support the girls,” Davis told the Post. “We fought hard for Title IX. We are not going backwards. I’m not going to have some boy shove girls off a podium. There’s real harm being done.”
Chino Valley Unified School Board President Sonja Shaw, who is running for California State Superintendent, condemned the competition outcome as “diabolical.”
“How did we get to a point in society that allows biological male once again swept podium spots in girls’ track events, robbing our daughters of hard-earned victories right in front of us,” Shaw told the Post.
“California cannot let this agenda continue to hurt our girls.”
Shaw blamed California laws including AB 1266 for what she described as a direct violation of Title IX, arguing female athletes are losing “Podiums. Records. Scholarships. Championships. Privacy. Safety. Fairness.”
“For six years, I have fought this insanity in our schools, and I’m done watching California sacrifice girls to appease activists, failed legislators and teachers unions,” she told The Post.
The CIF introduced a pilot policy during last year’s state finals allowing female athletes who finish behind a transgender competitor to move up one placement in official standings.
The program also allows additional female athletes to qualify for championship events when a transgender athlete secures a qualifying spot.
According to the parent of a competitor at Saturday’s meet, coaches informed families that the policy would continue throughout the remainder of the postseason.
The issue gained national attention after Hernandez qualified for the state finals last year, drawing criticism from President Donald Trump in a Truth Social post targeting California’s policies on transgender athletes in girls sports.
“THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS,” Trump wrote.
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