Transgender student athlete medals in California track championships amid protests, scrutiny from Trump administration

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Transgender student athlete medals in California track championships amid protests, scrutiny from Trump administration

A transgender teenager from Southern California competed in Saturday’s CIF track-and-field finals despite drawing national scrutiny and criticism from President Trump over her participation earlier in the week.

AB Hernandez, a Jurupa Valley High School junior, competed in several events on Saturday after finishing as the top qualifier in the girls’ high jump, long jump and triple jump on Friday. 

“There’s no words to express how proud I am of her, despite her being targeted, harassed for all these months. She’s here, she’s successful, she did it,” said Hernandez’s mother Nereyda. “When you’re actually here the whole event, you actually see, it’s not just hating. There’s more support, there’s more love.”

Hernandez took home first place medals in both high jump and triple jump and she placed second in the long jump event. Following a rule change by the California Interscholastic Federation, a co-winner was named in each of the three events in which Hernandez placed.

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Transgender athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley leaves the track during the CIF State Track and Field Championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium on May 30, 2025 in Clovis, California.

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The policy change allows an additional athlete to compete and earn a medal in events in which a transgender athlete also qualified. 

“If necessary, in the high jump, triple jump and long jump events at the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships, a biological female student-athlete who would have earned a specific placement on the podium will also be awarded the medal for that place and the results will be reflected in the recording of the event,” CIF officials said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

“The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law,” the statement said.

Related: Nationwide debate over Jurupa Valley transgender athlete’s eligibility in CIF finals continues

CIF officials announced the new policy days before the championships, which then drew a response from the U.S. Department of Justice as they launched a Title IX investigation over transgender athlete participation in California high school sports.

Their rule change was announced less than a day after Mr. Trump took to Truth Social to comment on the matter, threatening to pull federal funding from the state if Hernandez competed. 

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People hold Save Girls Sports signs in protest of transgender athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley (not pictured) during the CIF State Track and Field Championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium on May 30, 2025 in Clovis, California.

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Some high school coaches who had student-athletes participating in the finals offered their support for Hernandez, including Santa Margarita High School’s Bryn Williams.

“This is still a high schooler,” Williams said. “She is learning, she is navigating the world just like we are every single day and that I know I would want grace if I was put in a situation where I had a bunch of light on me and what I was doing. So I encourage people to remember that. We are all human and at the end of the day we are all trying to navigate this world.”

The finals began Friday at Buchanan High School in Clovis, which is located in Fresno County. Aside from the crowd that gathered to support participating athletes, the event also drew about 20 protesters who denounced Hernandez’s participation. Some could be seen holding signs that read “Save Girls Sports” and an airplane also flew over the event pulling a banner that read, “No Boys in Girls’ Sports.”

One person was arrested following an altercation between counterprotesters, Clovis police said. Video shows the moments that the person is taken into custody by officers, as well as the moments leading up to their arrest, when they shoved a flag pole through someone’s window. 

The car owner on the other end of the alleged attack spoke with CBS News Los Angeles on Saturday about why he was protesting.

“I think it’s completely unfair to these girls,” said Josh Fulfer. “They’ve worked hard. He has an advantage by being a male and it’s really unfortunate that these girls, the psychological effect that it has on them and places on them when they know they’re not only competing against people of their own sex, but now they gotta go up against a man. … I think it’s really bad that we’re setting this precedent.”

Despite this, business continued as usual inside the stadium, and the events were completed without disruption. 

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