CLOVES, Calif. - A transgender athlete defeated the game at the California High School Track and Field Championships on Saturday to win gold in the women's high jump, while the triple jump caused controversy and attracted national attention in one match.
Ab Hernandez participated in a new rule change, which could be the first competition for high school athletics administration nationwide. The governing body in California changed the rules before the meeting to allow more girls to participate in the competition where Hernandez was.
Hernandez completed the jump with a 5-foot-7 inches (1.7 meters) mark without failing attempts. Joint winners Jillene Wetteland and Lelani Laruelle also cleared the heights after each attempt. The three shared the first place victory, smiling as they came onto the podium together.
Hernandez finished the night with first place in the triple jump, sharing the title with Kira Gant Hatcher, who was half a metre behind. Early in the afternoon, Hernandez was second in the long jump.
Olympic athletes Marion Jones and Tara Davis-Woodhall previously set state championship records in 1993 and 2017 long jumps, both of which exceeded 22 feet (6.7 meters). This year's winner Loren Webster is 21 feet (6.40 meters) tall, and Hernandez is a few inches behind.
The Interstate Federation of California announced new policies earlier this week in response to Hernandez's entry into the championship. Under this policy, the federal government allows additional students to participate in competitions that are qualified for Hernandez.
The two-day champion started on Friday at a sultry high school near Fresno. In Saturday's final, the temperature reached three digits.
Although critics (including parents, conservatives and President Donald Trump) called on Hernandez to be banned from the competition, the atmosphere was relatively quiet. Some critics wore pink bracelets and T-shirts that read "Save Girls' Movement."
In Friday's qualifying match, a plane hovered over the stadium for more than an hour: "Boys without girls sports!" Two groups against trans athletes participating in women's sports - Women's Sports and Women's Independence Committee are real - praised by the banner.
Changes in federal rules reflect efforts to find a middle ground in debates about transgender girls’ participation in youth movements.
"CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission to provide students with opportunities to belong, connect and compete while complying with California laws," the organization said in a statement after announcing its rule changes.
A recent AP-NORC poll found that about one in 10 American adults believe that trans female athletes should not be allowed to participate in high school, college or professional level women and women's sports. This view is shared by one in ten Republicans and about half of Democrats.
The federal announcement has announced the change after Trump threatened to get federal funds from California unless it bans trans women’s athletes from joining the women’s team. The federal government said it decided to make changes before that.
The U.S. Department of Justice also said it would investigate federal and districts, including Hernandez High School, to determine whether they violated federal sexual discrimination laws.
California law allows trans students to compete with sexual isolation sports teams that are consistent with gender identity.
The federal said the rule opens the field to more "bio-female" athletes. One expert said the change may be discriminatory in itself because it creates an additional position for "bio-female" athletes but does not create another trans athletes.
The Federation does not specify its definition of “biological women” or how it will verify that competitors meet that definition.
Sophia Lorey, the director of publicity for the California Family Council, was one of them at the stadium on Saturday. She said federal policies are not a problem to solve this problem and will only cause more confusion in the end.
"At the end of the day, it shows that the girls know it's wrong and we still let it happen to you," Lori said.
Hernandez told publication Capital & Main this month that she doesn't have to worry about critics.
"I'm still a child, you're an adult, letting you show your identity like a child," she said.
The California champion stands out in other states due to the number of competitors. According to a survey by the National Federation of State High Schools Federations, students in the state participated in the second-largest student in outdoor track and field nationwide during the 2023-2024 school year.
The boys' 100-meter calories are also a highlight, with teenager Jaden Jefferson of De La Salle High School in Concord ending 0.19 seconds faster than the 2023 game record in 10.01 seconds on Friday. But he fell into the 10.27-second game in Saturday's final, which made it count as a game record.
The athletes have created new records in several competitions, including boys and girls relays, hurdles and boys pole-voices.