A transgender athlete who took home gold in a California high school track event shared the podium due to a last-minute rule change.
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A transgender athlete in California took home double gold in a girls track and field championship over the weekend
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But their participation is drawing fire from the White House and reigniting the debate over transgender athletes participating in women's sports
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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
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The policy came after President Trump threatened to withhold federal funding over Hernandez's participation in girls' events
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A Straight Arrow News reported the so-called pilot entry process allows multiple first-place finishers
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If a transgender athlete places first, the top-ranked biological female can also be awarded gold
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That's what happened Saturday. Hernandez cleared 5'7'' in the high jump without a miss
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Two other athletes, biological females, cleared the same height but with earlier faults
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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
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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
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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
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advance. Governor Gavin Newsom's office said in a statement, CIF's proposal is a reasonable
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respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness. But not everyone was on board
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Critics of transgender athletes and girls sports showed up at the event with signs and shirts
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some demanding Hernandez be disqualified. I'm here to save my daughter's future because they're trying to set a precedent
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They're trying to push us aside like they always do to women. Please, women, sit down
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You're second-rate citizens. We're not going back. We're not doing that anymore
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We have the law behind us. Just because California doesn't want, the politicians don't want to get on board
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That doesn't matter. We're not doing this anymore. Republican lawmakers slammed Governor Newsom for not taking a stronger stance
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During a podcast with Charlie Kirk, Newsom called the issue deeply unfair
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but his office later praised CIF's compromise. It's unclear whether the rule change will be sufficient for the White House
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or if federal funds are still at risk. Last month, his administration rescinded a similar funding freeze in Maine
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but that case is still tied up in court. For more on this story, you can download the
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Straight Arrow News app or visit us online at san.com. For Straight Arrow News, I'm Kara Rucker
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