California transgender athlete wins gold after rule change and Trump threat

A transgender athlete in California took home double gold in a girls track and field championship over the weekend

But their participation is drawing fire from the White House and reigniting the debate over transgender athletes participating in women's sports

A.B. Hernandez won the high jump and triple jump at California's state championship, competing under a new rule put in place days earlier

The policy came after President Trump threatened to withhold federal funding over Hernandez's participation in girls' events

A Straight Arrow News reported the so-called pilot entry process allows multiple first-place finishers

If a transgender athlete places first, the top-ranked biological female can also be awarded gold

That's what happened Saturday. Hernandez cleared 5'7'' in the high jump without a miss

Two other athletes, biological females, cleared the same height but with earlier faults

All three shared the podium. Hernandez also won the triple jump, sharing gold with Kira Grant Hatcher despite beating her by more than half a meter

Trump blasted California last week after Hernandez qualified for the championship, saying the runner-up shouldn't have been displaced and warning he'd pull federal dollars if the issue wasn't properly addressed

Shortly after Trump threat the California Interscholastic Federation announced the rule change saying it would allow biological female athletes who would have earned a qualifying spot for state to still

advance. Governor Gavin Newsom's office said in a statement, CIF's proposal is a reasonable

respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness. But not everyone was on board

Critics of transgender athletes and girls sports showed up at the event with signs and shirts

some demanding Hernandez be disqualified. I'm here to save my daughter's future because they're trying to set a precedent

They're trying to push us aside like they always do to women. Please, women, sit down

You're second-rate citizens. We're not going back. We're not doing that anymore

We have the law behind us. Just because California doesn't want, the politicians don't want to get on board

That doesn't matter. We're not doing this anymore. Republican lawmakers slammed Governor Newsom for not taking a stronger stance

During a podcast with Charlie Kirk, Newsom called the issue deeply unfair

but his office later praised CIF's compromise. It's unclear whether the rule change will be sufficient for the White House

or if federal funds are still at risk. Last month, his administration rescinded a similar funding freeze in Maine

but that case is still tied up in court. For more on this story, you can download the

Straight Arrow News app or visit us online at san.com. For Straight Arrow News, I'm Kara Rucker