A couple of transgender athletes who qualified for the California high school preliminary finals race but eventually choose not to compete were criticised by former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines.
Gaines competed against Lia Thomas in the pool while she was a student at the University of Kentucky. Following her victory in the 2022 Division I women’s national championship, Thomas soon gained attention in the discussion of who should be allowed to play in women’s sports.
Thomas spent three seasons on the men’s swimming team at the University of Pennsylvania before transferring to the women’s squad following a year off when the Ivy League postponed the 2020–21 athletic season due to the COVID–19 epidemic.
Gaines has since been vocal about her views on women’s sports competitiveness. She tweeted on Friday to inquire as to whether the high school runners who were found to “clearly possess an unfair advantage.”
Gaines, a 12-time All-American swimmer in the NCAA, has frequently stated that having transgender athletes participate in school sports will deter other people from taking part.
Athena Ryan came in second place in the 1,600-meter event last week in California. Prior to 2021, Ryan, a guy who had a gender change, participated on the boys’ squad.
Ryan’s other competitor, runner Adeline Johnson, placed fourth in the same event. The 18-year-old Johnson would not have advanced to the state finals had he placed outside of the top three. Johnson was observed making a thumbs-down sign at the podium ceremony following the race.
Lorelei Barrett, a second transgender competitor, also made it to the state championships. Barrett and Ryan failed to show up for the preliminary finals race.
“Today’s preliminary competition was skipped by both lads (Athena Ryan and Lorelei Barrett), who qualified for the California girls high school track and field state championship.
Did they understand that they had an obvious unfair advantage? Or is that being too rosy? Gaines tweeted something.
Ryan improved from finishing sixth in a 1,600-meter sprint to finishing second in the most recent tournament for high school girls.
Ryan ignited a firestorm of criticism when he bragged about the faster running speeds.
“I didn’t anticipate that. After the race, Ryan told MileSplit, “I dropped like 17 seconds on my season’s best in the last two weeks. “I didn’t believe I could run low 5s again after last weekend. I only came here to attempt to break five; I’m delighted I succeeded.
Protesters and organised organisations attended the track event to voice their objections. After the demonstrators started shouting, at least one of them was finally escorted from the area.
The “Gender Identity Participation” policy of the California Interscholastic Federation states that transgender students are allowed to participate in athletics and extracurriculars “consistent with their gender identity.”
The eligibility of a student-athlete may be granted just once, and it need not be renewed each year.
The California Interscholastic Federation is the state’s athletic commission for high schools. According to the CIF’s Twitter bio, the group supports “equity, quality, character, and academic development.”
