After months of being harassed and heckled by a group of adults, AB Hernandez, a 16-year-old transgender athlete, won first place in two events at the California Interscholastic Federation’s Track and Field Championships on Saturday amidst cheers from parents, coaches and other competitors. Hours after President Donald Trump demanded, in a May 27 post on Truth Social, that she not be allowed to compete, the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into California school administrators, the CIF and the Jurupa Unified School District, where Hernandez is a student, for allowing transgender student-athletes to compete in girls’ sports.
The California Interscholastic Federation effectively created a new category for Hernandez following Trump’s statement. Under new rules for this year’s track and field championships, the next “biological female student-athlete” that finished below Hernandez shared the place with her. Two first place medals were awarded for triple jump, and three for high jump, as the second place winners tied. Two second place medals were awarded for long jump.
