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Transgender Athlete AB Hernandez Wins Three Events at California Girls’ Track Meet

The results sharpen a growing Title IX showdown between California’s policy and federal enforcement.

Overview

  • AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley, competing Saturday at Yorba Linda’s CIF Southern Section Division 3 prelims, won the long and triple jumps and tied for first in the high jump with marks of 20 feet 4¼ inches, 42 feet 4 inches, and 5 feet 2 inches.
  • A “Save Girls’ Sports” rally led by former NCAA player Sophia Lorey formed outside the venue, with speakers urging the California Interscholastic Federation to bar transgender participation in girls’ events.
  • LGBTQ-rights groups later held a news conference, and the athlete’s mother said the controversy disrupted family life so severely that she took leave from work to protect her child’s safety and emotional well-being.
  • Governor Gavin Newsom’s office defended California’s 2013 gender-identity participation law and criticized efforts to vilify students, while a White House spokeswoman blasted Newsom and praised President Trump’s push to keep transgender girls out of girls’ sports.
  • The meet’s outcomes arrive as the Justice Department’s Title IX lawsuit against California proceeds and Education Department investigations broaden to additional institutions, including the California Community College Athletic Association.