CLOVIS, Calif. (AP) — The transgender teen will compete in the California High School Athletics Final Saturday, the day after he entered the race as the protest planes rallied over the competition, including criticism from President Donald Trump.
AB Hernandez is a trans student who advanced in the women’s high jump, long jump and triple jump on Friday, and will compete in the final on Saturday, competing in new rules changes that may be the first nationally by the high school sports governing body.
The new California Interstate Statistics Federation announced new policies earlier this week in response to Hernandez’s success. According to the policy, CIF will do so Compete against additional students Medals at the event Hernandez qualified for.
The two-day championship began in the swell heat of a high school near Fresno. Despite critics including parents, conservative activist and President Donald Trump, the atmosphere was a relatively quiet Friday.
There were some pushbacks on Friday. A group of less than 10 people gathered outside the stadium before the tournament to protest Hernandez’s participation. Some of them wore “Save Girls ‘Sports” t-shirts. At one point, Hernandez was trying to do a high jump, so someone in the stand cried out insults.
During the event, the aircraft circulates at the stadium for more than an hour, carrying a banner that reads, “There are no boys in girls’ sports!” Two groups opposed to transgender athletes participating in women’s sports, the Independent Council on Women’s Sports and Women’s are authentic.
Separately, one person was arrested outside the competition on Friday after facing off against another protester, according to the Clovis Police Department.
The rest of the night ended the triple jump at the mark near 41 feet (13 meters) and nearly 10 inches (25 cm) more than its closest competitor, the San Francisco Bay Area Junior Kiragant Hatcher.
Hernandez also led in a long jump with a mark close to 20 feet (6 meters) to advance to the final. She advanced in a high jump and easily cleared 5 feet, 5 inches (1.7 meters).
She did not speak to the press.
California National Discussion Center
The changes to the CIF rules reflect an effort to find an intermediate foundation for the debate surrounding Trans Girls’ participation in youth sports.
“The CIF values all student-athletes and will continue to support its mission to provide students with the opportunity to belong, connect and compete while complying with California law,” the group said in a statement after announcing changes to the rules.
a Recent AP-NORC public theory It turns out that about seven in 10 adults in the US believe that transgender female athletes should not be allowed to participate in girls and women’s sports at high school, college or occupational levels. That view was shared by about nine of the 10 Republicans and about half of the Democrats.
The federal government announced changes to its rules after Trump threatened to withdraw federal funds from California this week. Transforming Bars for Tern Athletes From competition in the women’s team. The CIF said it had decided to make the changes earlier.
The U.S. Department of Justice also said it would look into state federations and districts, including Harnandez high schools, to determine whether they violated federal sex discrimination laws by allowing trans girls to compete in women’s sports.
Some California Republicans also showed weight, with several state legislators attending press conferences and criticising Hernandez for keeping him in the race, and Republican governor candidates are planning to attend Saturday’s final.
California law allows trans students to compete with gender sports teams that match their gender identity.
The federation said the rules open the field to more “biological women” athletes. One expert said that while creating an extra space for “biological women” athletes, the change itself could be discriminatory as it is not another trans athlete.
The federation did not specify how to define “biological women” or how to check whether their competitors meet that definition.
Hernandez He spoke to the publication Capital & Main Earlier this month, she couldn’t worry about critics.
“I’m still a child, you’re an adult, and behaving like a child shows how you’re like a person,” she said.
Another student breaks the record
California State Championships stand out from state championships in other states because of the number of competitors athletes are standing up to qualify. According to a survey by the National High School Association, the state had the second largest number of students in outdoor athletics across the country between 2023 and 2024 school year, behind Texas.
Olympians Marion Jones and Tara Davis Woodhall set state championship records in the 1993 and 2017 long jumps respectively, both of which exceeded 22 feet (6.7 meters).
The boy’s 100m dash heat was also a highlight of Friday. Junior Jayden Jefferson from DeLa Salle High School in Concord finished about 0.2 seconds faster than the 2023 meeting record. Jefferson’s time will not count as a record unless the results can be reproduced in the final.
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Austin is a legional member of the Associated Press/Report’s American State University News Initiative. American Report It is a non-profit, national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms and reports on secret issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophiedanna
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